What is the last movie you saw? and rate it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sir Bartholomew

Lars von Trier's Dogville 3.5/4.0. Nice concept but it drags most of the time. And why are the characters always whispering? Great acting from Nicole Kidman though.

---

Hi Sir Bartholomew, conceptionally, I might agree, but I truly hated that film. And I thought that ball and chain was so ridiculous; and what exactly was the point of that? I thought the ending was appalling and the whole film does drag and drag, on an on. I am sorry, but you were really generous with your rating. I would probably rate it a 1 out of 4, if even that much. It was that 'ball and chain' that dragged the rating to a 1....well, that and a few dozen more things I found horrible about the film.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Janine

Hi Sir Bartholomew, conceptional I might agree, but I truly hated that film. And I thought that ball and chain was so ridiculous; and what exactly was the point of that? I thought the ending was appalling and the whole film does drag and drag, on an on. I am sorry, but you were really generous with your rating. I would probably rate it a 1 out of 4, if even that much. It was that 'ball and chain' that dragged the rating to a 1....well, that and a few dozen more things I found horrible about the film.

---

it's ok lol, have you seen its sequel Manderlay?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sir Bartholomew

Lars von Trier's Dogville 3.5/4.0. Nice concept but it drags most of the time. And why are the characters always whispering? Great acting from Nicole Kidman though.

---

I have to agree with Janine on this one. I absolutely disliked the way Dogville was presented. I remember reading somewhere about its novel and outstanding direction. Er, what? It took forever to make sense and the end was just so...not horrendous, but it just didn't seem to tie in very well. Pointless.



And there's a sequel??

So, I saw Black Snake Moan last night.

I enjoyed it (no, not only because the wonderful Christina Ricci, spent a large portion of it wearing very little). I didnt like the ending however, it seemed to intent to make it happy. The story line set its self up for a really good ending too:(

6/10. A good film spoiled by a poor ending.

Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966)

http://pages.prodigy.net/zvelf/Andrei_Rublev.jpg

Andrei Rublev, a film that is both a sweeping historical epic and a minimalistic character study, is a compelling and deeply moving masterpiece -- from a technical standpoint it's awe-inspiring, and it is also incredibly effective on both an emotional and a philosophical level. That being said, however, I did have a great deal of difficulty following the story, due to the fractured narrative and the fact that I know absolutely nothing about 15th century Russia. Still, this is a truly amazing cinematic experience.

Radio
8.5/10

I saw this once before a couple of years ago. I know it isn't a big deal film, but I liked it. It is based on a true story, and it stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ed Harris. I just think it is a nice little film. The sort that I need to watch every now and then. :)

Big Al..
is that a photo of a man wearing a dress?
interesting..

I watched Across the Universe (the movie with about 27 beatles songs in it)

20/10
BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODY BRILLIANT
and of course it didn't hurt that the two main actors were to die for *sigh*
:P

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tiny Dancer

Big Al..
is that a photo of a man wearing a dress?
interesting..

I watched Across the Universe (the movie with about 27 beatles songs in it)

20/10
BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODY BRILLIANT
and of course it didn't hurt that the two main actors were to die for *sigh*
:P

---

Tiny Dancer, I think that is a monk in Big Al's photo; am I right Big Al? It is an awesome looking photo; forboding, I think. If it is a monk, it would fit the short story (almost, needs to be all black clothing) we are doing in the Chekhov thread and wow, the film is Russian, too...cool. That film looks interesting, BA, but I hate films that are too disjointed and one hasn't a clue what is really going on.

TD, I really want to see "Across the Universe" with the '27 beatles songs!' Wow, didn't know they sqeezed that many into one movie. I took this film out of my library a few weeks ago and then had to take it back without viewing it - ran out of time; I think I will check it out in the next few days. Thanks for your blooooody good review!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Janine

Tiny Dancer, I think that is a monk in Big Al's photo; am I right Big Al? It is an awesome looking photo; forboding, I think. If it is a monk, it would fit the short story (almost, needs to be all black clothing) we are doing in the Chekhov thread and wow, the film is Russian, too...cool. That film looks interesting, BA, but I hate films that are too disjointed and one hasn't a clue what is really going on.

---

It is indeed a monk. Andrei Rublev was very famous as a painter of religious icons in the (I believe) 15th century. But it is definitely hard to follow and very intellectual, but from an emotional standpoint the film hits like few others I've seen. It doesn't have a reputation as one of the greatest films ever made for nothing.

I watched that movie late last year and it really was a striking movie. Very slow moving, like all Tarkovsky's movies, but that gave you time to take in everything, all the emotions and events. One of the things I thought was so fascinating is that even though it's in black and white, you still get such a sense of color.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Idril

I watched that movie late last year and it really was a striking movie. Very slow moving, like all Tarkovsky's movies, but that gave you time to take in everything, all the emotions and events. One of the things I thought was so fascinating is that even though it's in black and white, you still get such a sense of color.

---

I can't say I agree with you on that last point, and actually I think Tarkovsky's reasons for filming in black and white were completely off -- he made the assertion that he filmed it as such because people don't see color in their day to day lives. Maybe not colorblind people, but otherwise...

Oh, and I just finished Watching Babel. It's okay -- nothing special, nothing I haven't seen before, but it's not bad.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Big Al

I can't say I agree with you on that last point, and actually I think Tarkovsky's reasons for filming in black and white were completely off -- he made the assertion that he filmed it as such because people don't see color in their day to day lives. Maybe not colorblind people, but otherwise...

---

Well, I agree that that's an odd reason not to shoot in color because it doesn't make any sense but I do think the black and white was a good choice for other reasons. It made everything much more stark of course and that fit with the time period and the starkness of the monkish life, the simplicity. It caused you to really focus on the story and emotions instead of distracting you with backgrounds, it made it very intimate which I thought made sense. That's not to say those things couldn't have been acheived with color, there are other ways of accomplishing those effects of course but the lack of color didn't limit my ability to see the movie in color if that makes any sense. It was like a blank canvas you could fill on your own.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Idril

Well, I agree that that's an odd reason not to shoot in color because it doesn't make any sense but I do think the black and white was a good choice for other reasons. It made everything much more stark of course and that fit with the time period and the starkness of the monkish life, the simplicity. It caused you to really focus on the story and emotions instead of distracting you with backgrounds, it made it very intimate which I thought made sense. That's not to say those things couldn't have been acheived with color, there are other ways of accomplishing those effects of course but the lack of color didn't limit my ability to see the movie in color if that makes any sense. It was like a blank canvas you could fill on your own.

---

I'm not saying I thought it should have been in color (quite the contrary), but Tarkovsky's reasoning didn't make any sense to me. I agree that the black and white cinematography creates a sparseness which accentuated the film very nicely.

I find this very interesting, Idril -- what are some of your other favorites?

Films I enjoyed, but would need a second viewing to rate:

8 1/2
The Assassination of Jesse James
Barton Fink
I'm Not There

Rated:

Kill Your Idols : I'm a fan of experimental and avant-garde music, so this was a pleasant suprise. I'm glad to have learned about the no-wave movement.

Youth without Youth: 10/10 I love this movie!

Gandhi: 10/10 I forgot I was watching a film. If anybody needed a biographic film made, it was Gandhi.

There Will be Blood: 9/10 All of PTA films are funny even when they're serious. So many great lines and I loved the score.

Secretary: 8.5/10 Eroticism at its best ... for me atleast.

The Brown Bunny: 8.5/10 A film I avoided, but am happy I saw. Haunting.

Last Tango in Paris: 8.5/10 Powerful and honest.

Tarsem Singh's The Fall: 8/10 There have been many negative reviews, but I bought it. The visuals are great, the story is fifty-fifty, but Catinca Untaru, the young girl, is a delight to watch.

Blue of Kieslowski's Three Colors: 8/10 A very moving film.

Candy: 8/10 I enjoyed it, but it was weird seeing Heath Ledger on screen.

Fargo: 8/10

Braveheart: 7.5

Sherrybaby 6/10 I'm starting to respect Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Dan in Real Life : 7/10 Light fun.

Juno: 6/10 Some pleasant moments, thanks to Patrick Bateman, but am I the only person who found this movie annoying. This movie uses what has become the indie asthetic, but left the punch. I couldn't stand the sountrack (the song performed at the end is an exception)!

3:10 to Yuma: 4/10 What a bore.

Clockers: 4/10 I don't see the big deal with Spike Lee. Malcolm X seems to be the only star on his resume.

Hitman: 1/10 What trash! Olga Kurylenko is the only reason I mention this movie.

Awake: 0/10 Awake? That makes one of us.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Antiquarian

No, you're not the only person here who found "Juno" annoying. I found it annoying, too, and shallow. I would rate it lower than you, Nick. I found it highly overrated.

---

It tried to hard to be quirky. It would have been lower, but I'm a Bateman fan. Come on, Arrested Development.

I found Youth without Youth and The Brown Bunny to be underrated.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Antiquarian

I loved "Secretary"! :) An underrated little gem of a movie.

---

I found out thing about myself I didn't know. Like certain fetishes that interested me (not the being tied to a stove and having tomatoes launched at me:lol:).