View Poll Results: The Florida Project

Voters
24. You may not vote on this poll
  • Sunshine and Orange Juice!

    23 95.83%
  • Later, Alligator!

    1 4.17%
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 32

Thread: The Florida Project (Sean Baker)

  1. #1
    The Pan Spinal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Portland
    Posts
    19,723

    The Florida Project (Sean Baker)

    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) ***

  2. #2
    The Pan Spinal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Portland
    Posts
    19,723
    On FB, I was talking about how this reminded me of a Vittorio De Sica film, where an ordinary protagonist is caught in a situation where they are slipping away due to a lack of social support. Excellent performances all around. Beautiful cinematography. One of the year's best.
    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) ***

  3. #3
    Piss off, ghost! number8's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Brooklyn
    Posts
    30,529
    Yeah, isn't it great? Sean Baker is one of my fav directors right now. I love that he's now made three films in a row about sex work and each one is so different from the last, showing the variety of the perspective and the richness of it that is still largely unexplored in films.
    Quote Quoting Donald Glover
    I was actually just reading about Matt Damon and he’s like, ‘There’s a culture of outrage.’ I’m like, ‘Well, they have a reason to be outraged.’ I think it’s a lot of dudes just being scared. They’re like, ‘What if I did something and I didn’t realize it?’ I’m like, ‘Deal with it.’
    Movie Theater Diary

  4. #4
    The Pan Spinal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Portland
    Posts
    19,723
    I was absolutely floored to learn that Bria Vinaite had never acted before. And I'm still not sure how they captured some of that stuff with the kids that feels so honest. That speaks to an extraordinary director. I'll have to catch up on the rest of his work.
    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) ***

  5. #5
    collecting tapes Skitch's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Neo-Ohio
    Posts
    16,583
    I didn't realize he made Starlet (which I still have to see). Tangerine, while not exactly my cup of tea, was still gripping all through the run time. My biggest gripe was, as usual, characters make decisions I didn't like. Still a checklist film. Especially because (correct me if memory serves me wrong) it was shot entirely on an iPhone.

    Trailer for TFP looks great.

  6. #6
    The Pan Spinal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Portland
    Posts
    19,723
    Quote Quoting Skitch (view post)
    Especially because (correct me if memory serves me wrong) it was shot entirely on an iPhone.
    Just one (key) scene, I believe.
    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) ***

  7. #7
    collecting tapes Skitch's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Neo-Ohio
    Posts
    16,583
    Quote Quoting Spinal (view post)
    Just one (key) scene, I believe.
    Damn the internet.

  8. #8
    Evil mind, evil sword. Ivan Drago's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    6,995
    Quote Quoting Spinal (view post)
    I was absolutely floored to learn that Bria Vinaite had never acted before. And I'm still not sure how they captured some of that stuff with the kids that feels so honest. That speaks to an extraordinary director. I'll have to catch up on the rest of his work.
    Yeah, in the last five minutes I kept asking myself, "How do you direct a little girl to get THAT emotional of a performance?"

    This was an emotional rollercoaster for me with a lot to process. I'll have more developed thoughts after I see it for a second time.
    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

  9. #9
    Piss off, ghost! number8's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Brooklyn
    Posts
    30,529
    Quote Quoting Spinal (view post)
    Just one (key) scene, I believe.
    Are you talking about this movie? Skitch is referring to Tangerine, which was shot entirely on an iPhone 5S.
    Quote Quoting Donald Glover
    I was actually just reading about Matt Damon and he’s like, ‘There’s a culture of outrage.’ I’m like, ‘Well, they have a reason to be outraged.’ I think it’s a lot of dudes just being scared. They’re like, ‘What if I did something and I didn’t realize it?’ I’m like, ‘Deal with it.’
    Movie Theater Diary

  10. #10
    Piss off, ghost! number8's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Brooklyn
    Posts
    30,529
    Quote Quoting Spinal (view post)
    I was absolutely floored to learn that Bria Vinaite had never acted before. And I'm still not sure how they captured some of that stuff with the kids that feels so honest. That speaks to an extraordinary director. I'll have to catch up on the rest of his work.
    This is why he's one of my favorite filmmakers right now. Baker's entire filmography are films with first time actors. The co-lead of Starlet was an 85 year old woman who'd never acted before that they just saw working out in a YMCA. The stars of Tangerine were actual trans sex workers that Baker found by visiting the LGBT center in LA. All of their performances were extraordinary.
    Quote Quoting Donald Glover
    I was actually just reading about Matt Damon and he’s like, ‘There’s a culture of outrage.’ I’m like, ‘Well, they have a reason to be outraged.’ I think it’s a lot of dudes just being scared. They’re like, ‘What if I did something and I didn’t realize it?’ I’m like, ‘Deal with it.’
    Movie Theater Diary

  11. #11
    The Pan Spinal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Portland
    Posts
    19,723
    Quote Quoting number8 (view post)
    Are you talking about this movie? Skitch is referring to Tangerine, which was shot entirely on an iPhone 5S.
    I was. Maybe I misunderstood his post.
    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) ***

  12. #12
    This is pretty incredible, though I'm not sure I agree with all the reviewers touting Dafoe's performance as some kind of career peak; I suspect that people are responding more to seeing him portray a character who is unimpeachably virtuous for once instead of a creep.
    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

  13. #13
    The Pan Spinal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Portland
    Posts
    19,723
    Agreed that it's a strange performance to single out. Dafoe is solid, as usual. Maybe it's also because he's one of the only recognizable faces in an exceptional ensemble.
    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) ***

  14. #14
    Piss off, ghost! number8's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Brooklyn
    Posts
    30,529
    Quote Quoting baby doll (view post)
    I suspect that people are responding more to seeing him portray a character who is unimpeachably virtuous for once instead of a creep.
    These people clearly did not watch John Wick.
    Quote Quoting Donald Glover
    I was actually just reading about Matt Damon and he’s like, ‘There’s a culture of outrage.’ I’m like, ‘Well, they have a reason to be outraged.’ I think it’s a lot of dudes just being scared. They’re like, ‘What if I did something and I didn’t realize it?’ I’m like, ‘Deal with it.’
    Movie Theater Diary

  15. #15
    Guttenbergian Pop Trash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    The Yay Area
    Posts
    5,243
    Quote Quoting number8 (view post)
    These people clearly did not watch John Wick.
    Or Platoon...or The Last Temptation of Christ...or...
    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



  16. #16
    This was totally heartbreaking but, like Tangerine, has a really unique loving tone that feels very therapeutic. Whole cast is great--am I sensing Dafoe backlash in this thread? Movie would've been a lot harder to get through with about anyone else in that role. Also, he's clearly not a saint. At least when it comes to birthdays Halley was the better parent.

  17. #17
    Moderator TGM's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    3,819
    Not sure how I feel about that overly-abrupt ending, but otherwise, this was phenomenal.

  18. #18
    Administrator Ezee E's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Denver
    Posts
    30,597
    Loved the heck out of this, and it's way of introducing elements to a story that eventually lead to a subplot. Reminded me of Fish Tank.

    Dafoe's recognition is fine, although as mentioned, it seems mostly because he's the only recognizable name of the group. But, hey, if that's what it takes to get the movie seen, then more power to it. There's not enough movies like this.

    Barbarian - ***
    Bones and All - ***
    Tar - **


    twitter

  19. #19
    White Tiger Field Stay Puft's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    3,711
    There's a scene where Moonee is on the bed watching TV, and I couldn't figure out what the show was but it looked really familiar (something with puppets), so I sat during the credits to find out and yeah it was Greg the Bunny, like what a random blast from the past. So when I got home I had to google it because now I'm thinking about it and oh wait these are actually the guys who did Greg the Bunny!?!?! Mind blown. That was the most random, unexpected connection imaginable.

    Hell of a film, though. One of the year's best, for sure. Really excited to see Sean Baker's other films now.
    Giving up in 2020. Who cares.

    maɬni – towards the ocean, towards the shore (Sky Hopinka) ***½
    Without Remorse (Stefano Sollima) *½
    The Marksman (Robert Lorenz) **
    Beckett (Ferdinando Cito Filomarino) *½
    Night Hunter (David Raymond) *

  20. #20
    In the belly of a whale Henry Gale's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    4,703
    I loved this lots.

    It's hard for me to really know how to approach it to talk about, because it is a pretty tremendous piece of work that feels so distinctive that it feels like it's occupying spaces in my brain more as a series of childhood memories I never had, a trip to Florida I took that I'm just got back from and don't have enough distance from, and a weirdly detailed and perfectly recall-able dream. But by golly, it's a movie. One that we all get to experience, talk about, and even return to. And it's one of the best ones in years.

    Quote Quoting Stay Puft (view post)
    There's a scene where Moonee is on the bed watching TV, and I couldn't figure out what the show was but it looked really familiar (something with puppets), so I sat during the credits to find out and yeah it was Greg the Bunny, like what a random blast from the past. So when I got home I had to google it because now I'm thinking about it and oh wait these are actually the guys who did Greg the Bunny!?!?! Mind blown. That was the most random, unexpected connection imaginable.
    Wait WHAAAAATTT.

    I absolutely recognized that it was Greg the Bunny but had no idea the connection was that Baker created it. I just thought it worked perfectly as the sort of thing that an unaware parent would put on the TV because it appeared to be something for kids that's actually not for them at all. Wonder Showzen or most Adult Swim animation would've also worked on the screens in this respect.

    I guess I've been a fan of his for way longer than I thought.
    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)

  21. #21
    Moderator Dead & Messed Up's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    New Canaan, where to the shepherd come the sheep.
    Posts
    10,620
    Not a hundo on how I feel about the final moments; that'll take some processing.

    But otherwise, yeah, gotta cop to everyone else, this is some peak 2017-ing. I didn't realize the lead wasn't an actress. Figured maybe some sort of indie journeywoman. Because, Jesus, absolutely perfect work. There's a self-contained sequence here with an old man that's as suspenseful as anything in a movie like Dunkirk (in its own deeply worrying way). And Dafoe was fantastic. His burnished humanism was carried so carefully throughout the film. But he also doesn't stand out or punch above his belt. He gives the film exactly what the role and character requires. Worn-out decency. Kids crushed it, too, not just in those final moments (my God, those tears), but in the small moments of joy and humdrum inanities of being young and having nothing to do. "What're you breaking?" "A wall." "...good luck." Spinal's comparison to Vittorio de Sica is sharp.

  22. #22
    The Pan Spinal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Portland
    Posts
    19,723
    Quote Quoting Spinal (view post)
    Agreed that it's a strange performance to single out. Dafoe is solid, as usual. Maybe it's also because he's one of the only recognizable faces in an exceptional ensemble.
    After seeing this again yesterday, I think I may have underestimated Dafoe's contribution. He is absolutely perfect in each moment, ranging from compassion to frustration to anger. Man, I love this movie.
    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) ***

  23. #23
    Cinematographer Mal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    1,070
    Eh its good but I think both Tangerine and Starlet had better slice-of-life takes of forgotten, ignored human subjects (Starlet is probably my favorite by Baker). I wouldn't mind watching an entire film about Willem Dafoe's character and all the crap he has to deal with.

  24. #24
    Here till the end MadMan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    A land of corn and technology
    Posts
    20,076
    Quote Quoting Stay Puft (view post)
    There's a scene where Moonee is on the bed watching TV, and I couldn't figure out what the show was but it looked really familiar (something with puppets), so I sat during the credits to find out and yeah it was Greg the Bunny, like what a random blast from the past. So when I got home I had to google it because now I'm thinking about it and oh wait these are actually the guys who did Greg the Bunny!?!?! Mind blown. That was the most random, unexpected connection imaginable.

    Hell of a film, though. One of the year's best, for sure. Really excited to see Sean Baker's other films now.
    Wow. As evidenced by that short lived TV shows thread I did years ago I love Greg The Bunny.

    Dafoe was excellent in this. The man can flat out act, but I thought everyone knew that already. The others were great, too. Incredibly sad movie, that is for sure, and I was very moved by the ending.
    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?



  25. #25
    Super Moderator dreamdead's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    5,843
    Really found this one quite affecting; the subject matter is smartly handled--it doesn't preach about what these parents did prior to getting here nor about what awaits them afterwards, but it's just rooted in their present moment. It's quietly humane throughout, even when Halley is showing nothing but her worst behaviors.

    I wish the film had cut to black right when Moonee visited Jancey at the end--the switch in film style and antirealism feels too disruptive for a film that elsewhere greatly benefits from its naturalism. Still, it's a clear reminder that Baker is a thoughtful director, and that this one makes me want to revisit Starlet.
    The Boat People - 9
    The Power of the Dog - 7.5
    The King of Pigs - 7

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
An forum