There are a few movie clubs here, the one i am a member of rents a theater once a weekOriginally Posted by DanielBenoit
Where on earth did you get to see these classics, ON THE BIG SCREEN!They have both old and new films (but i pick the old ones most of the time).
Through the darkness of future past
the magician longs to see
one chance out between two worlds
'Fire walk with me.'
Twin Peaks
Wow, where I live they're non-existent. You sure are lucky. It's been years since I saw a film on a big screen; mainly because I prefer older films, too. I wanted to see something last year but in no time flat it had disappeared from the theaters. That was unfortunate.
Hi manolia, I am like you. Mostly I take out the older films from my library. I am glad they have a lot of those available and if they don't, I can always request one and they will find it in the county collection. Might take time; but hey, it's free rental, so I don't mind waiting.
"It's so mysterious, the land of tears."
Chapter 7, The Little Prince ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Last night I watched Shrink, a newer movie (2009) starring Kevin Spacey, who never fails as a fantastic actor, whether on screen or stage, and one of the few films of, a name I had to research, Jonas Pate; Thomas Moffett, another unfamiliar name I looked into, wrote the screenplay.
Despite Spacey seeming the only prominent name in eyesight, other than cameo appearances from Robin Williams and Gore Vidal, this film had many twists and turns, an astoundingly complex plot composed of few main characters with extraordinarily precise, careful directing of the sensitive subjects of psychotherapy/psychiatry, substance abuse, mental illness, death, and struggles with adolescence. Each character has his/her bright and shining moment, and, though the first half of the roughly 100-minute film has a few slow and vague parts, everything comes together smoothly and beautifully like a once-shattered vase, pieced back together like new, full of "ooohs" and "aaahs" in the surprise ending.
The talent, obvious hard work, and definitude placed into what seems regarded as a mostly "no-name" film really surprised me, and I intend upon watching it again before returning it to the video store to admire again its solidarity of writing/directing and remarkable acting.
Rating: 10/10
Cry_Wolf
6/10
I'm glad to see there are people out there watching this movie. It's a complete independent picture, and unfortunately the reviews for it were very terrible. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Kevin Spacey regularly impresses, though there a large group of people out there who are put off by Spacey's work as an actor.
I'm losing all those stupid games
That I swore I'd never play
I have a personal sentiment towards films made or set during the 20's, for it has to be my favorite era in history, culturally, muscially and artistically. Fitzgerald always touches me in a very personal way every time I read him, Loius Armstrong's trumpet always seems to tug at some joyful part of my soul, and Singin' in the Rain is on my list of ten greatest films ever made.
Recently, we've had two utterly moving pictures made about the 20s', both of them biographical, and both of them containing some of the best acting, directing and special effects to come out this decade.
The Curious Case of Benjeman Button - A truly poetic film about the passing of time, seen through the eyes of a man who ages backwards (we is born an old man and dies a baby). Director David Fincher perfectly and beautifully illustrates all the ages that Benjeman goes throughout his life, from the Progressive era, to the Jazz Age, to the seventies; this is a breathetaking (though sentimental) film on the grand scale of an entire life. Of course not all relationships can be illustrated as vividly in the course of three hours, but each friendship that Benjeman makes is like a subtle litte short story. Take his affair with the wife of a politician (played sublimely by Tilda Swinton), their late night chats in the kitchen are so reflective of real life, that most of this film seems to be a strange ironic story, based on fantasy and built into something pure and real. This has Brad Pitt's and Cate Blanchett's best performance to date, and has too many perfect snapshots of life to be listed entirely in a review. Their relationship throughout the film is beautiful, except for one mistaken scene, which seems to be a bit too fantastic and feel as if it came out of some cheap romance novel (I merely refer to the scene in which they make love on the beach while the sun sets). Stunning make-up and special effects, all integrated into one of the best films to come out in the past ten years. What do you know? Hollywood finally comes out with a picture with unbelievable special effects and performances *gasp* 9.9/10
The Aviator - Of Scorsese's big bidget collaborations with Leonardo DiCaprio in the past ten years, this one in my opinion is his best (I loved The Departed by the way). This is a truly masterful biographical film about the great Howard Hughes (with DiCaprio in probably the greatest performance of his career), who was a filmmaker, an industrialist, a playboy, and most importantly an aviator. He was also a troubled man, who's compulsions and phobias got in the way of his genius, and eventually led to his demise. Goddamn it, besides Stanley Kubrick, nobody knows how to use music in a film better then Scorsese, especially pop music. Ever since the bursting explosion of the opening song in Mean Streets, to the wide pop soundtrack in Goodfellas, Scorsese has always mastered a sense of time in place through the soundtrack. Here he makes a big use of jazz from the Big Band era (which I must thank the film, for it's music is what turned me on to jazz). Cate Blanchett has a fun little performance as Katherin Hepern (Hughes's short-time girlfriend), which can be easily underappretiated, due to the fact that Blanchett pulls it off without looking like a muttering fool. As in Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver and a ton of his other films, Scorsese masters a sense of subjectivity within the audiences mind in relation to the character, in which we are seeing the paraniod illusions that Hughes is tormented by. Oh, and did I happen to mention that DiCaprio's performance is top-notch? and that Scorsese's directoral work is unsuprisingly true mastery. Maybe I should shut up. Go see this. 10/10
(sorry everybody for constantly writing raving 10/10 reviews, and calling almost all of them "masterpieces", I just don't go to the cinema that often to see recent pictures, and when I do, I sure as hell better make sure that it is directed by somebody I know. Just my personal bias)
Last edited by DanielBenoit; 10-13-2009 at 04:01 AM.
The Moments of Dominion
That happen on the Soul
And leave it with a Discontent
Too exquisite — to tell —
-Emily Dickinson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVW8GCnr9-I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckGIvr6WVw4
Up
Brilliant.
10/10
This is probably one of my favorite films of this current year. I'm very confident you'll see this movie with the word "Oscar" related to it in the coming months.
I'm losing all those stupid games
That I swore I'd never play
Batman Begins -on T.V- , 8/10
My friend, I am not what I seem. Seeming is but a garment I wear—a care-woven garment that protects me from thy questionings and thee from my negligence.I would not have thee believe in what I say nor trust in what I do—for my words are naught but thy own thoughts in sound and my deeds thy own hopes in action.
Khalil Gibran
You betcha!I try to keep my tastes at least relatively eclectic - good to hear someone else liked it, too.
Whew - watched a lot of movies lately -
W. - unfortunately we cannot discuss current politics on the forum, and Dubya's departure from the U.S. Presidency seems recent enough not to speak of on the forum, but, in regards to the Oliver Stone film, other than having a few slow parts . . . ha!
Rating: 9/10.
The Escapist. Many individuals I know seemed to enjoy this film, so I rented it on somewhat of a whim, starring such names as Joseph Fiennes, Brian Cox, and Seu Jorge; the writers and director, however, I did not feel too familiar with, even after some minimal research. To put it bluntly, I did not feel too impressed - the time-cuts often seemed too sudden and unfulfilling in their purposes (making me frequently feel lost), the acting and the character interactions felt very ambiguous and unimportant in nature, the plot seemed ill-developed and vague, the surprising-ending came so suddenly that the end credits come with leaving the audience in the dark (literally and figuratively, of course), and the only thing I enjoyed, I believe, involved the setting, particularly the place, a London prison. In my opinion, the writers, director, and actors could have accomplished a lot more with the obvious effort placed into the film, but unfortunately their intentions did not shine through for me.
Rating: 4/10.
Fargo. I feel really embarrassed that I have never seen this much-regarded classic, especially as a fan of the revered Coen brothers. Last night, I finally witnessed what I have missed for over a decade, and all I can say: wow, wow, wow! Some of the best acting I have seen, especially that of Frances McDormand and William H. Macy, stellar and thoughtful directing, and obviously silk-like construction in writing. Bravo!
Rating: 11/10.
A lot of people on litnet disagree with me, but this is my favorite of all the Coen Brothers films. The greatest part about it is the "based on true story". You find out if you watch the credits all the way through they put a disclaimer that the movie is purely fictional. No murder, no events, nothing like that in that area ever occured. It was a masterful touch on the viewer's belief that it was real.
Last edited by Mathor; 10-15-2009 at 12:21 AM.
I'm losing all those stupid games
That I swore I'd never play
I think it quickly ended up as my favorite Coen brothers flick, too, though I loved No Country for Old Men, Ladykillers, and Paris, Je T'aime, as well; Fargo, I think, may have topped them all, since, as much as others will hate to hear this, The Big Lebowski and O Brother, Where Art Thou did not do as much for me.
Just out of curiosity, do you have a favorite Coen brother, whether Joel or Ethan? Difficult to narrow down, eh?
tomb raider
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Bloody Mary
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0469684/
2/10
Though Joel does most of the directing and Ethan does most of the writing, for the most part all of their films are pretty collaborative (both take part in a little bit of every part of the movie). Their isn't one brother that is really more powerful than the other, or one who creatively lacks in some way. They are both geniuses, and work well together. I'd say since Joel takes a bigger hand in directing, though, that Joel would probably be my favorite.
I also loved The Ladykillers, and though I liked The Big Lebowski, I wasn't too fond of O Brother, Where Art Thou.
Ive also seen the most recent film, A Serious Man, that just came out. I think it's probably my second favorite of their films.
1. Fargo
2. A Serious Man
3. No Country For Old Men
4. Miller's Crossing
You'll have to see the newest film when you get a chance, It's pretty brilliant.
I'm losing all those stupid games
That I swore I'd never play
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