My list is great. Just nowhere near as great as pretty much any other decade.Quoting PURPLE (view post)
My list is great. Just nowhere near as great as pretty much any other decade.Quoting PURPLE (view post)
Last 10 Movies Seen
(90+ = canonical, 80-89 = brilliant, 70-79 = strongly recommended, 60-69 = good, 50-59 = mixed, 40-49 = below average with some good points, 30-39 = poor, 20-29 = bad, 10-19 = terrible, 0-9 = soul-crushingly inept in every way)
Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) 61
Moby Dick (2011) 50
Soul (2020) 64
Heroic Duo (2003) 55
A Moment of Romance (1990) 61
As Tears Go By (1988) 65
Stuff at Letterboxd
Listening Habits at LastFM
The key phrase in your first sentence is "for the most part" (for the most part, anything is garbage), although I would argue that the average film of the classical period is, for a variety of reasons, superior to the average Hollywood film of any subsequent decade. I remember seeing an interview with Billy Wilder from the early 1980s where he talks about how, when he started at Paramount, they were making something like forty or fifty films a year compared with the post-studio era, where it's become uncommon for a studio to release even half that number of films, meaning there's a lot more riding on each film, and consequently, studios are willing to take fewer risks. It doesn't help matters that, since the 1960s, the studios have been run by faceless multinational conglomerates rather than the old-time studio moguls, who had a certain professional pride in doing quality work. (Recall David O. Selznick's passion for costly reshoots.) Another reason for the sliding quality of American films has to do with the rise of film schools in the 1960s, which effectively replaced the apprentice system that existed in the studio-era, as a result of which the level of basic craftsmanship in Hollywood filmmaking has steeply declined to the point where even the most ambitious contemporary Hollywood directors know less about staging than a Michael Curtiz or a John Sturges. (Incidentally, if cinema has a "greatest generation," it's undoubtedly those directors whose careers spanned both the silent and sound eras: Charles Chaplin, Carl Dreyer, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang, Ernst Lubitsch, Mizoguchi Kenji, Naruse Mikio, Ozu Yasujiro, Jean Renoir, and Josef von Sternberg being only the first dozen names that come to mind.)Quoting PURPLE (view post)
Last edited by baby doll; 10-13-2019 at 02:43 AM.
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
Every decade has good and bad films, cinema is good, some decades are better than others, honestly cinema peaked in 1975, yada yada.
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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?
Ain't that the truth.Quoting PURPLE (view post)
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
This might be the most correct statement on this thread so far. It's even more true of the films Malick made after that.Quoting transmogrifier (view post)
I still haven't seen any of the films he made after that. It really did a number on me. It's not what I want in a film.Quoting Grouchy (view post)
Last 10 Movies Seen
(90+ = canonical, 80-89 = brilliant, 70-79 = strongly recommended, 60-69 = good, 50-59 = mixed, 40-49 = below average with some good points, 30-39 = poor, 20-29 = bad, 10-19 = terrible, 0-9 = soul-crushingly inept in every way)
Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) 61
Moby Dick (2011) 50
Soul (2020) 64
Heroic Duo (2003) 55
A Moment of Romance (1990) 61
As Tears Go By (1988) 65
Stuff at Letterboxd
Listening Habits at LastFM
It was a one-and-done for me. What a seemingly pointless venture.
I loved The Tree of Life, but Badlands is one of my favorite movies (and I own it on Criterion).
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?
Song to Song is a radically unique film. It's quite amazing what he did in that film. I don't love it as much as The Tree of Life only because that one is more to my tastes, but it's still amazing.
I love Malick's newly found style. Badlands is boring, typical. A perfume commercial would NEVER stoop to such lows!
Typical of what?Quoting PURPLE (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
It has criminals in it, I guess, therefore it's just more of the same?Quoting baby doll (view post)
Last 10 Movies Seen
(90+ = canonical, 80-89 = brilliant, 70-79 = strongly recommended, 60-69 = good, 50-59 = mixed, 40-49 = below average with some good points, 30-39 = poor, 20-29 = bad, 10-19 = terrible, 0-9 = soul-crushingly inept in every way)
Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) 61
Moby Dick (2011) 50
Soul (2020) 64
Heroic Duo (2003) 55
A Moment of Romance (1990) 61
As Tears Go By (1988) 65
Stuff at Letterboxd
Listening Habits at LastFM
I should have clarified, being that this conversation is so weighty. It's clearly atypical of a perfume commercial.Quoting transmogrifier (view post)
Hey now if you can't enjoy a well crafted perfume commercial then how can you possibly appreciate cinema?
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?
It doesn't hurt!Quoting MadMan (view post)
I hate Grease with fury of a thousand suns.
I love Grease with the fury of a million suns. Let’s work out a good deal! You don’t want to be responsible for slaughtering your own self-respect, and I don’t want to be responsible for destroying your understanding of what constitutes cinema—and I will. I’ve already given you a little sample with respect to my tiff with MadMan.Quoting Skitch (view post)
History will look upon you favorably if you get this the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don’t happen. Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool!
I will call you later.
Last 10 Movies Seen
(90+ = canonical, 80-89 = brilliant, 70-79 = strongly recommended, 60-69 = good, 50-59 = mixed, 40-49 = below average with some good points, 30-39 = poor, 20-29 = bad, 10-19 = terrible, 0-9 = soul-crushingly inept in every way)
Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) 61
Moby Dick (2011) 50
Soul (2020) 64
Heroic Duo (2003) 55
A Moment of Romance (1990) 61
As Tears Go By (1988) 65
Stuff at Letterboxd
Listening Habits at LastFM
When my younger sister was in grade school, she would watch Grease 3-4 times a day. She was obsessed with learning all the songs and dance moves. The moment the tape was over, she would rewind it and start again. Every time the volume was way too loud. I was yelled at for even suggesting a reasonable volume. This went on for years. I'm not remotely exaggerating. I despise that movie, and to hell with credibility if it hinges on Grease or the MCU, up or down.
But do call me later, we'll party! (must spread rep juices around and all that)
Your sister sounds smart and cool.
Last 10 Movies Seen
(90+ = canonical, 80-89 = brilliant, 70-79 = strongly recommended, 60-69 = good, 50-59 = mixed, 40-49 = below average with some good points, 30-39 = poor, 20-29 = bad, 10-19 = terrible, 0-9 = soul-crushingly inept in every way)
Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) 61
Moby Dick (2011) 50
Soul (2020) 64
Heroic Duo (2003) 55
A Moment of Romance (1990) 61
As Tears Go By (1988) 65
Stuff at Letterboxd
Listening Habits at LastFM
She thinks National Treasure 1 and 2 are the best movies ever made.Quoting transmogrifier (view post)
Grease was on TV the other day. I watched the whole thing.
I also watched Age of Ultron on TNT today.
That's.... disheartening.Quoting Skitch (view post)
Last 10 Movies Seen
(90+ = canonical, 80-89 = brilliant, 70-79 = strongly recommended, 60-69 = good, 50-59 = mixed, 40-49 = below average with some good points, 30-39 = poor, 20-29 = bad, 10-19 = terrible, 0-9 = soul-crushingly inept in every way)
Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) 61
Moby Dick (2011) 50
Soul (2020) 64
Heroic Duo (2003) 55
A Moment of Romance (1990) 61
As Tears Go By (1988) 65
Stuff at Letterboxd
Listening Habits at LastFM
I will never understand the respect Grease gets. The story is awful and offensive, the songs suck, and it's a fat sack of rapeyness. The best way to view it is as a full movie like a Jacob's Latter-esque dream-state as what's her name actually drowns in the beginning of the film.
I like some of the songs ("Summer Lovin'" and "You're the One That I Want") and Stockard Channing's character, who seems to be visiting from a more interesting movie, but overall it's pretty mediocre.
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
While we're bashing widely liked movies, I might as well add that the only person who's genuinely funny in Caddyshack is Rodney Dangerfield, who seems to have written most of his lines himself. Chevy Chase is so subdued he seems to be falling asleep and Bill Murray mumbling to himself is just weird and creepy.
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
I think Grease is a bad film, but I don't hate it.
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?