Match Cut 2010 Better Than List

[baby doll]

In honor of everybody's favorite weekly reviewer (who shall remain nameless), I thought we ought to have our own orgy of contrarianism, full of personal attacks and unqualified statements. And who better to kick it off than yours truly?

Barbe bleue and Eccentricities of a Blonde Haired Girl are BETTER THAN Inception. Stories within stories have been around as long as there have been stories, but Catherine Breillat and Manoel de Oliveira are modest and playful where Christopher Nolan is portentous and humorless. Breillat and de Oliveira also know things about mise en scène that Nolan never bothered to learn.

Last Train Home is BETTER THAN I Am Love. When it comes to stories about familial turmoil and globalization, I much prefer Lixin Fan's moving documentary about Chinese migrant laborers to Luca Guadagnino's half-baked Visconti ripoff.

The Misfortunates is BETTER THAN The American. Felix van Groenineg's raucous loser comedy affirmed American pop culture's ability to bridge cultures, while Anton Corbijn's Euro-trash thriller used anti-Americanism as a political tease. The sheer pleasure that van Groenineg's characters take in Roy Orbison's music is the perfect antidote to Corbijn's joyless Le Samouraï ripoff, in which the chilly style drains whatever fun there might have been from the ridiculous and predictable story: We're not meant to enjoy the film so much as admire it from a distance for its "perfection."

The Trotsky is BETTER THAN Shutter Island. Both of these movies are about characters with identity issues, but where Martin Scorsese's ahistorical period neo-noir argues that nothing is real--not even the horror of the concentration camps, which are exploited as a sexy turn on and then forgotten--Jacob Tierny's spirited teen comedy has the audacity to suggest that the life of Leon Trotsky is still relevant to today.

Women Without Men is BETTER THAN Everyone Else, The Kids Are All Right, Please Give, and Winter's Bone. Shirin Neshat's debut feature--a magic-realist network narrative set against the backdrop of the 1953 Iranian coup d'état--has received far less attention than these other films directed by women, but it has more chutzpah than all of them put together.

[Ezee E]

That Shutter Island criticism makes no sense. The horrors led Leo to alcoholism, and I can't think of the "sexy turn-on"

[baby doll]

That Shutter Island criticism makes no sense. The horrors led Leo to alcoholism, and I can't think of the "sexy turn-on"

[

Show Spoiler

I think the ending makes it pretty clear that he was never at Dachau.

]

[Ezee E]

[

Show Spoiler

I think the ending makes it pretty clear that he was never at Dachau.

]

That's one of the things that seems to have never been disregarded. That's how he acquired the skills to be able to become so dangerous after all.

As for that "sexy turn-on?"

[baby doll]

That's one of the things that seems to have never been disregarded.

Why do you say that, apart from the fact that they don't mention it during the denouement? As for the sexy turn on, they throw it in as part of his character's back story, and then disregard it along with everything else--or at least that's my inference.

[Spinal]

I'm adding spoiler tags. Also, based on what I can remember ...

[

Show Spoiler

I thought they said that the massacre of the German soldiers never took place. As to whether he was there in the first place, I was under the impression that that was an actual part of his history.

]

[Ezee E]

Why do you say that, apart from the fact that they don't mention it during the denouement? As for the sexy turn on, they throw it in as part of his character's back story, and then disregard it along with everything else--or at least that's my inference.

[

Show Spoiler

Yeah, the scene in Dachau and his witness of the death of the General (Captain?) was what led to him drinking, and then to everything else that led him into the prison.

As for how it influenced "Teddy" can be different. It influenced Teddy into thinking that the doctors were practicing the same type of tests that occurred in Dachau.

]

[baby doll]

[

Show Spoiler

Yeah, the scene in Dachau and his witness of the death of the General (Captain?) was what led to him drinking, and then to everything else that led him into the prison.

As for how it influenced "Teddy" can be different. It influenced Teddy into thinking that the doctors were practicing the same type of tests that occurred in Dachau.

]

Maybe I need to take another look at it, because the way I'm remembering it is [

Show Spoiler

his wife was crazy and killed their kids for no reason, and that was when he started falling apart.

]

[baby doll]

Also, feel free to post your own better than lists.

[Spinal]

Yeah, I'm not sure myself and I watched like a week ago. I think I agree with your central point though, that the film is ultimately more about tricking the audience than it is about something tangible and meaningful.

[Ezee E]

Maybe I need to take another look at it, because the way I'm remembering it is [

Show Spoiler

his wife was crazy and killed their kids for no reason, and that was when he started falling apart.

]

You're partially right.

[

Show Spoiler

Except he came home an alcoholic from World War II. He refused to acknowledge his wife's insanity because of his own post-traumatic stress. Whether or not he was a true hero of World War II could be debated. Heck, she even burned down the apartment, and they moved far away, and the rest is well known.

]

[Ezee E]

Yeah, I'm not sure myself and I watched like a week ago. I think I agree with your central point though, that the film is ultimately more about tricking the audience than it is about something tangible and meaningful.

[

Show Spoiler

Is it about tricking the audience though? Maybe on the first go with the movie. But seeing it a second and third time have made me realize just how much of it is about the grievance of Andrew Laeddis. It's a more painful movie to watch each time because of that. Add that to the trouble that the Doctor goes through with his plan to try and show that rehab is a proper means of action, only to fail again and again.

]

[Ezee E]

In honor of everybody's favorite weekly reviewer (who shall remain nameless), I thought we ought to have our own orgy of contrarianism, full of personal attacks and unqualified statements. And who better to kick it off than yours truly?

Barbe bleue and Eccentricities of a Blonde Haired Girl are BETTER THAN Inception. Stories within stories have been around as long as there have been stories, but Catherine Breillat and Manoel de Oliveira are modest and playful where Christopher Nolan is portentous and humorless. Breillat and de Oliveira also know things about mise en scène that Nolan never bothered to learn.

Last Train Home is BETTER THAN I Am Love. When it comes to stories about familial turmoil and globalization, I much prefer Lixin Fan's moving documentary about Chinese migrant laborers to Luca Guadagnino's half-baked Visconti ripoff.

The Misfortunates is BETTER THAN The American. Felix van Groenineg's raucous loser comedy affirmed American pop culture's ability to bridge cultures, while Anton Corbijn's Euro-trash thriller used anti-Americanism as a political tease. The sheer pleasure that van Groenineg's characters take in Roy Orbison's music is the perfect antidote to Corbijn's joyless Le Samouraï ripoff, in which the chilly style drains whatever fun there might have been from the ridiculous and predictable story: We're not meant to enjoy the film so much as admire it from a distance for its "perfection."

The Trotsky is BETTER THAN Shutter Island. Both of these movies are about characters with identity issues, but where Martin Scorsese's ahistorical period neo-noir argues that nothing is real--not even the horror of the concentration camps, which are exploited as a sexy turn on and then forgotten--Jacob Tierny's spirited teen comedy has the audacity to suggest that the life of Leon Trotsky is still relevant to today.

Women Without Men is BETTER THAN Everyone Else, The Kids Are All Right, Please Give, and Winter's Bone. Shirin Neshat's debut feature--a magic-realist network narrative set against the backdrop of the 1953 Iranian coup d'état--has received far less attention than these other films directed by women, but it has more chutzpah than all of them put together.

As for me Jackass 3D is a better movie then Greenberg. Call it performance art or just being stupid, but it sure beats middle-aged men being stupid.

[Boner M]

The Trotsky was pretty fun, but it was so badly acted. Esp. by Jay Baruchel.

I'll think of some additions to this thread soon.

[baby doll]

As for me Jackass 3D is a better movie then Greenberg. Call it performance art or just being stupid, but it sure beats middle-aged men being stupid.

Greenberg is a film about an immature middle-aged man, which is different from an immature film.

[Boner M]

That Armond picture is so amazing. "Yo kid, I'll buy you an ice cream and take you to Crank. No pedo!"

[B-side]

TRON: Legacy is BETTER THAN Inception. Where Inception can prove trying, TRON: Legacy is a smooth, fun ride around neon-lighted rooms, Holocaust parables and skin-tight leather-clad Olivia Wilde.

[soitgoes...]

Poetry is BETTER THAN Inception. They both have actors, but Poetry's actors are Asian.

[Watashi]

Legend of the Guardians is BETTER THAN How to Train Your Dragon.

[number8]

I thought I was the only person who saw Trotsky. Great movie. Jay Baruchel's best role.

[Boner M]

I thought I was the only person who saw Trotsky. Great movie. Jay Baruchel's best role.

He was bad in it, though.

[baby doll]

Poetry is BETTER THAN Inception. They both have actors, but Poetry's actors are Asian.

Tougher than it looks, isn't it?

[NickGlass]

That Armond picture is so amazing. "Yo kid, I'll buy you an ice cream and take you to Crank. No pedo!"

Indeed! I love his fashion sense. Those motorcycle patterns are hip.

[B-side]

Indeed! I love his fashion sense. Those motorcycle patterns are hip.

He's a rebel. The motorcycle is symbolic of his disdain for the new cultural norms.

[Qrazy]

This is better than That. While That brings thematic intrigue to the table This packs more of an emotional punch.