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I am way behind all of you.But I did see the "Gone With The Wind" in TCM channel again.I admire Vivien Leigh for her characterisation of Scarlet.I also saw that old classic "Witness For The Prosecution".Brilliant court scene.But a modern day variation of the theme was "The Shawsaw Redemption" .Oh! What acting by both lead actors.
Good choice V.J.
Apart from the nostalga angle for the MGM & TCM channels, its always a joy to hear dialogue, outdated in modern parlance, but great in the context of its time.
Tim Robbins & Morgan Freeman in the Shawshank Redemption, a gem of a cocktail. Vodka & tonic / Rum & coke / Whiskey & Drambuie.
Okay, I take the cake (though Mathor might steal it from me):Quote:
Originally Posted by MANICHAEAN
Broken Blossoms (1919) - A beautifully lurid melodrama, which despite its cliches, is one of the most utterly depressing films I've ever seen. I've only seen it twice, and each time was a tough experience. Out-dated in story, never out-dated in emotion. 10/10
Intolerance (1916) - The epic before there were epics, a film just as ambitious as today's The Lord of the Rings or Star Wars. It's quite suprising to see this much immmensity at a time when film grammer was still developing. 10/10
Birth of a Nation (1915) - As influencial as it is controversial, I must admit that there is greatness in the skill of this film, but despicable hatred in the final third of this long film. But like The Battleship Potemkin this is an important part of film history, no matter what its reservations. 8/10
The Great Train Robbery (1903) - I don't remember a whole lot of this, since it was so short (runing at about twenty minutes). It's quite exciting to see history in the making, but difficult to really criticize since it was made at a time in which people were still learning what is to be done with this camera. Love the final shot though, one that can be found in hommage in both The Godfather and Goodfellas.
And if this counts, a two second long film, which was considered the first motion picture ever made:
Roundhay Garden Scene (1888)
1896 Bataille de Boules de Neige - The Snowfight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBTMR...eature=related
Lumiere brothers are amazing.
Le Voyage Dans la Lune - A Trip to the Moon (1902) - George Melies - this movie is AMAZING. Easily one of the greatest surrealistic movies ever made.
Whoa it's so simple and yet so very absorbing. Though the music has a lot to do with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mathor
DB & Mathor
I humbly submit.
Apart from 'The Battleship Potemkin" of which I remember extracts, you have got me beat.
If you dont mind me asking are you "dedicated" film buffs?
Coming from someone who has seen Citizen Kane about twenty times and has analyzed great films shot-by-shot on more than one occasion, yeah, I'm a dedicated film buff :nod:Quote:
Originally Posted by MANICHAEAN
Love Streams directed by John Cassavetes. It's my favorite film by Cassavetes and is working it's way into being my favorite in general. Cassavetes has always made films with a heighten emotional realism, but employed expressionistic (either that or surrealistic) techniques in Opening Night and Love Streams. I found the visions in Opening Night underlined with tension and fear, but there is a warmth and sadness in its use in Love Streams. There is an emotional build throughout the film that I still feel after multiple viewings. I've seen the film about eight times, but I watched the dream sequences at least once a day for an entire month after my first viewing. 10/10
I was flicking through the channels on Saturday and Thirteen was showing this visually beautiful movie and the only actor I recognized was Tony Leung, so I thought it might have been 2046 (which I own but haven't seen). I watched about twenty minutes of it and I'm interested in seeing the rest. I did some research today and it turns out the film is "In the Mood for Love". Has anybody seen it?
I still haven't watched Antichrist, but I will before it hits theaters and now Herzog has two film coming out, one produced by David Lynch. This is not the time to be in a recession.
One of my favorite opening sequences.:thumbs_up I didn't appreciate Peter Falk until I watched Cassavetes' films and Elaine May's Mikey and Nicky.Quote:
Originally Posted by DanielBenoit
I saw the first ten minutes of Werkmeister Harmonies and I have to see the rest. I'm picking up a copy tomorrow ... if it's reasonable priced.
Bad Lietenunt: The Port Call of New Orleans is the one that's coming out on the 20th and is said to be some of Nicholas Cages best work since Leaving Los Vegas, so I've heard.Quote:
Originally Posted by NickAdams
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? is the one produced by Lynch and from the trailer looks like a pure Herzog film, both visually and thematically, with a bit of Lynchian touches including the casting.
We have a convert! If you have NetFlix, you can easily find anything, and I mean anything.Quote:
I saw the first ten minutes of Werkmeister Harmonies and I have to see the rest. I'm picking up a copy tomorrow ... if it's reasonable priced.
I haven't seen Leaving Los Vegas, but he gives an excellent performance in Adaptation.Quote:
Originally Posted by DanielBenoit
Lynch's relevance comes from being Lynch, but Herzog is too strong a personality to be influenced by Lynch. I'm sure Lynch's involvement doesn't go beyond promoter (like when Tranatino "presented" Iron Monkey") and earnestness to help out the director of Even Dwarves Started Small.Quote:
Originally Posted by DanielBenoit
:blush:Quote:
Originally Posted by DanielBenoit
what do you mean by "dedicated"?Quote:
Originally Posted by MANICHAEAN
Yeah, Roger Ebert did a big blog about all of the new Herzog movies back in May. He liked Bad Lieutenant most of all of them. I agree, saw a screener from a friend a couple months ago. Bad Lieutenant is certainly one of the better films of this year.Quote:
Originally Posted by DanielBenoit
I know, right? I love Sleepy Hollow, in spite of what a lot of people seem to think about the film.Quote:
Originally Posted by crisaor
The last one i watched though was Becoming Jane.. I never got around to watching it when it was released. It was alright. Maybe 6.5 out of ten? I don't watch a whole lot of movies so my judgement's probably really off.
I saw 2012 today and I have to say...eh.
It was a Thanksgiving movie trip out.
If you're going to watch this movie, I recommend doing it in a theater so that you can hear all the explosions in surround sound and see all the destruction etc. on the big screen. Otherwise, it's just another formulaic, Hollywood end- of-times movie. Deep Impact comes to mind There's the emotional goodbye scenes that made me embarrassed in my seat. And there were a lot of them in this movie.
But, I went with my husband who is fun in theaters because he was so "oh no!" in the many close-call action scenes. I'm sure the other people in the theater appreciated that. If they could even hear him - it was a loud movie.
Funny story: My parents being extremely religious believe that the world is going to end soon and that the antichrist is coming and blah blah blah. Well, they decided to go see 2012 so that they can "counter" the "ideas" presented in the film concerning the Mayan calander and whatnot. Little did they know that the film possessed not a single second of thought-provoking topics. But considering their taste in films, 2012 may have actually been thought provoking.
That is pretty amusing about them going for that reason....considering the type of movie that it is.Quote:
Originally Posted by DanielBenoit
hehehe agreed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shalot
What i found most embarassing in that particular end-of-days film is that mankind still goes on but incidentally only rich folk survive (since they are the ones who were able to buy a ticket) and the film pretends to have a happy ending :rolleyes:
EDIT
"The double life of Veronique" 10/10 (this is one of my all time favorites)
"The birds" 10/10 (again and again, i love this film)
One thing I find quite funny about the disaster film genre is that there's all of this destruction going on and people dying on a massive scale, and yet we're supposed to care about some two or three cardboard heros :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by manolia
Ben 10: Alien Swarm gets a solid 9/10.
Gamer gets 3/10.
I only watched it for the Butler.
I just saw this film a few days ago at a local film festival, and I certainly agree that the fewer scenes of the movie definitely contribute to its very blunt realism. Previously, I had only heard of Cassavetes' acting, particularly in the 60's and 70's, but this made me curious to explore more of his unique style of directing, too.Quote:
Originally Posted by DanielBenoit
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans 6-7/10
I haven't seen the Harvey Keitel film, so I can't reference it, but I'm told that the only similarities between the two are the titles and the naughty officer. Bad Lieutenant is Training Day minus the Ethan Hawke rookie and both featuring Eva Mendes. The humor is delivered like the "steak" scene in Raging Bull. Nicholas Cage makes the film worth seeing along with the three reptiles and the dancing soul (I don't know if credit goes to the screen writer or Herzog).
Dogville 10/10
Amazing!!!
Probably Herzog. Anyone remember the dancing chicken from Stroszeck? :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by NickAdams
hmm. Weird, though, I heard this movie got pretty decent reviews. Like, it's not amazing, but I expected this to be the worst movie of the year, and from what people tell me it's B+ worthy. But if its truly not good, it's what I expected, and the reason why I haven't bothered to go see it.Quote:
Originally Posted by DanielBenoit
The Fantastic Mr. Fox - I've contended and still contend that Pixar makes masterpieces, and that their newest film Up is unquestionably one of the best of the year. But to see a film like this, directed by Wes Anderson and released by 20th Cetury Fox and done in old-fashioned stop-animation, it is quite a breathe of fresh air.
Most animation films find a perfect balance at entertaining adults and kids, thus pleasing everyone in the audience. This film seems slightly more for adults and has a few things that might offend parents of young kids(smoking and drinking are persistent in the film). All the better for me. I enjoy nothing more than a film that will polarize everyone, as oppose to make everyone in the audience get into a big group hug.
Let me say this, I have never seen an animated film like this one before. It defies the conventions and techniques of typical animation, even stop-motion. Done with elaborately meticulous sets and long tracking camera work, similair to that of a slide-projector, Wes Anderson makes full use of the foreground, background, left-side, right-side, in almost shockingly long static shots. The technique of this film has more in common with Orson Welles elaborate aeriel shots than most animation techniques used today.
The story, which is quite simple and based on Rohd Dahl's children's story. A fox (appropriately named Mr. Fox) begins stealing chickens from the the farm next door. The humans discover this and plan revenge. A long drawn-out plot to be rid of the pesky animals persists.
All the voices in the film are great (Anderson made the unique decision to do the voices outside of a sound studio), there is a family theme within the plot which avoids the cheesy sentimentality of so many other movies. Though there are some quasi-sentimental lesson-learning moments which at times were very appropriate for the story, and at other times just plain akward and long drawn out. The film is filled with irony and winks at the camera, which saves it from typical formula, but at the same time limits it from being anything but clever. This is an animated film, but this is a problem amongst independent cinema.
But I must come back to the technique which just awed me in the first five minutes. That said, the method of the "camera" panning across sets following characters got a little worn out after a while, for they are the most commonly used shots in the film (with the exception of tight close-ups of the characters faces, which is obnoxious at times as well). Anderson films conversations in the style of the great Yarujio Ozu by having characters look straight into the camera, thus giving the viewers the point-of-view of the other character.
The film is a lot of fun with plenty of Tarantino-esque irony and humour, a spagehtti western formula and some fantastically mature characters. Hell, this film is animated neorealism when compared to Twilight and 2012. 7/10
Indeed. Up is better, but I LOVE Wes Anderson films.Quote:
Originally Posted by DanielBenoit
My picks for Animated Category of the Oscars (since there are 20 animated films in the running this year as opposed to the usual like 13, the category has expanded to 5)
1. Up
2. Ponyo
3. The Fantasic Mr. Fox
4. Coraline
5. The Princess And The Frog
with the visionary director Hayao Miyazaki's new masterpiece Ponyo, and another masterpiece from Pixar, unfortunately it doesn't stand much of a chance, but The Fantastic Mr Fox is definitely a movie that should be seen. All Wes Anderson films are certainly an experience, mainly his use of color in his films. I can see why you gave it a 7/10, though, Wes Anderson is full of imperfections, and he is still growing as a director. With so many great films he's made, I cannot wait to see him make a film that doesn't have any missteps. But maybe his imperfections are what makes him so unique and unlike any director of this time period.
I saw Angles & Demons the other day. It was to the mind as Oreos are to body: cheap & tasty, but not that good for you.
5/10
Rewatched the X-Men Trilogy. Gets a cool 11/10 every time ;)
I saw Paa last week. 7/10
Werckmeister Harmonies: 10/10!
Well I can't really review this because I saw only about ten minutes of it on youtube, but I must say that it only further proves Bela Tarr as one of the greatest directors of our time: His adaption of Macbeth for television in 1982 is anything but conventional and despite being in Hungarian pertains the beauty of Shakespeare's language. The whole film consists of two shots; one at the begining which lasts for five minutes, and one for the rest of the film which lasts for a stunning 57 minutes on a handheld camera. Obviously this is a greatly abridged version, but having not seen the whole thing, I can only comment that Tarr's direction is masterful. Both the camera and actors possess a sort of grim realism, this is one of the rare films of his shot in color and the low-quality television format is a bit off-putting at first, but then starts to benefit the film which its utter claustraphobic grittiness. I really look forward to getting my hands on the complete version. A very interesting look at a genius in development.
Watched too many films lately. I'll just mention the last one, which was district 9 (at the theater). I was pleasantly surprised! Good film :nod:
A History of Violence - Brilliant performances, great directing, great script. It's always good to see Ed Harris in a film. And I really fancy Maria Bello. 9/10.
Tonight when I had reached a full and unabashed state of mental despair, I watched "It's A Wonderful Life" on TV (one of Frank Capra's many directoral masterpieces). It inspired me as it always does, remaining one of the greatest films of my lifetime. Such a gem.
Eagle Eye gets a 9/10; if they'd toned down the car-bashing, it'd've been a perfect 10.
'Paranormal Activity' 3/10.
Promising underlying premise but executed very poorly. Scenes that may have provoked genuine fear are clumsily telegraphed. Neither the acting or the narrative are strong enough to maintain the 'documentary' artifice. Exceedingly lame.
Up In The Air - 10/10 - this is the best film i've seen all year, and I didn't think i'd say that seeing as The Hurt Locker and In The Loop came out this year, but this one tops them all. Brilliant. The best role of George Clooney's career, without a doubt.
I've heard good things but I was dubious. Will certainly check it out now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mathor
Only three films in my life have rendered me so speechless that I felt as if I had somehow transcended all thought. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Apocolaypse Now and Persona. The latter I have just finished watching and I must say that I am as mute as the women in it. This film along with 8 1/2 the above mentioned and a few others, is the all-everything of cinema; it is infinite. 10/10
I second 2001: A Space Odyssey. It was not until I saw this creation that I fully appreciated film as an art form.Quote:
Originally Posted by DanielBenoit
The last movie I saw was The Tenth Level (1975). It was a made for TV movie about a real psychological experiment that investigated what made people obey orders of cruelty toward others, and how far the average person would go, (an idea that stemmed from the events that took place in Nazi Germany during WWII). The content was intriguing. Also, it starred William Shatner and included his famous shoulder-roll, which is always a plus in my book. :lol: 9/10 for quality of subject matter.