AgentChris
Member
Memories of Murder: I thought this was pretty great. The director Bong Joon-ho is amazing. I thought Mother was better but that's to be expected when this came out before.
Movies You've Seen Recently: Return of the Revenge of the Curse of the...
- Thread starter Cosmic Bus
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Con Air is great!
Hasenfeffer
Member
We should be friends.
Buckethead
Banned
What should I watch: A Simple Plan or The Sweet Hereafter?
They are both good. I think i liked a Simple Plan more.....they are both subdued movies. Both worth watching.
no contest for me, The Sweet Hereafter
Yes.
Femmeworth
Banned
That's sort of what we got.
l'auberge espagnole is great, the sequel is shit tho. the kid with a bike is also shit imo
Lawrence of Arabia
The excess of its visual scope and spectacle sometimes works against it; the pretty vistas and extensive extreme long shots can come off as self-serving, shallow, even when they impress and captivate; maybe it's the sheer quantity.
However, it is an epic in more ways than one and the reason why it feels so much like a satisfying, if harrowing journey, is because of its nuanced and observant characterization. In fact, here's where so many epics fall apart, why other works with similar visual and narrative ambitions feel decidedly un-epic: failure to develop characters, failure to portray believable inner journeys instead of facile outward ones. And this is where Lawrence of Arabia succeeds like few others do. It's the exceptional script painting an increasingly complex and twisted portait of an enigmatic character and the horrors that change him, in ways that we expect and in ways that we don't - all despite the undeniable romanticism. And it's an even greater performance.
I'm sure everything that needs to be said about it has been said and I'm confident that most superlatives apply. Maybe most notable to me, looking back, is the fact that it received so much recognition from The Academy. It is ultimately a fair bit darker, less conciliatory, less morally simplistic than you'd expect from your typical award-showered crowd-pleaser.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
Just picked up the Blu-Ray myself, although I did get to see in in theaters last mine. That was a treat.
Snowman Prophet of Doom
Member
SURPRISE! Lincoln is thoroughly mediocre.
To say that Daniel Day-Lewis is wasted as Abraham Lincoln is a truly grand understatement. There's a scene where Lincoln is arguing with his wife about their son enlisting, and while Sally Field's rather bad performance makes the whole thing rather histrionic and laughable, you do get a glimpse, momentarily, at what a movie more concerned with the human side of its tale might have looked like. Such moments are, however, quite rare. While DDL is the type of actor that enthralls your attention no matter what, he is, for the most part, required to do only a few things in this movie - look sly and knowing as he plays the political game, and deliver monologues over and over and over again. There simply is no depth nor shading to the characterization, and it's so upsetting because DDL, who really IS perfect to play the character, just doesn't have much to work with. He does fine with the material he's given, but that's all it is - fine. He'll get an Oscar nomination, possibly a win, but ultimately, it's not a performance to remember even five years from now, let alone fifty or a hundred.
And... well, there's really not much else to SAY about the movie. The acting from everybody else is, at best, lazy (see: Jones, Tommy Lee and Gordon-Levitt, Joseph), and at worst, quite bad (see: Field, Sally and that kid playing Tad). The script is a weird mish-mash that veers from a bad Aaron Sorkin script, to typical Spielberg, to pseudo-Shakespearean, to TV movie. None of the rest of the characters has any human dimension to them, the only attempt being the rather obvious ways in which Thaddeus Stevens is characterized. The film is lazily structured around a bunch of dramatic scenes about which it's difficult, or even impossible, to care, scenes that serve mainly as bridges between Lincoln's seemingly endless monologues, all of which Lewis delivers well and all of which have much relevance or resonance outside of pushing the plot forward. And, well, the Lincoln family drama has no real relevance. The powers-that-be tell me Kushner is a good writer, but between this, Munich, and the vastly overrated Angels in America, I've yet to see him demonstrate such. The movie is, as expected, filled with platitudes and cliches, and the few good moments, scattered throughout like raisins, hardly do much to redeem the film. And, of course, there are those truly Spielbergian moments of banality -
.
Beyond that, I don't know what else to say. The filmmaking is very mediocre, from the lazily-shot battle scene at the beginning to the unremarkable composition. The editing is especially egregious - there's one scene where
, and that type of pointless cutting abounds throughout the film. The music barely even exists, and when it does, it's in the most predictable moments possible. And Spielberg doesn't even know where to end it. The fact that it doesn't make the usually historical movie mistake of trying to cover too much of a character's life is one of the movie's few strengths, yet even after the dramatic arc of the first 95% of the movie is resolved, it keeps fucking GOING, for no particular reason other than to deliver on the most expected moments that might put butts in seats.
Ugh. Just ugh. It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, but it's bad. Christ, what a fuckin' WASTE of a great casting choice!
To say that Daniel Day-Lewis is wasted as Abraham Lincoln is a truly grand understatement. There's a scene where Lincoln is arguing with his wife about their son enlisting, and while Sally Field's rather bad performance makes the whole thing rather histrionic and laughable, you do get a glimpse, momentarily, at what a movie more concerned with the human side of its tale might have looked like. Such moments are, however, quite rare. While DDL is the type of actor that enthralls your attention no matter what, he is, for the most part, required to do only a few things in this movie - look sly and knowing as he plays the political game, and deliver monologues over and over and over again. There simply is no depth nor shading to the characterization, and it's so upsetting because DDL, who really IS perfect to play the character, just doesn't have much to work with. He does fine with the material he's given, but that's all it is - fine. He'll get an Oscar nomination, possibly a win, but ultimately, it's not a performance to remember even five years from now, let alone fifty or a hundred.
And... well, there's really not much else to SAY about the movie. The acting from everybody else is, at best, lazy (see: Jones, Tommy Lee and Gordon-Levitt, Joseph), and at worst, quite bad (see: Field, Sally and that kid playing Tad). The script is a weird mish-mash that veers from a bad Aaron Sorkin script, to typical Spielberg, to pseudo-Shakespearean, to TV movie. None of the rest of the characters has any human dimension to them, the only attempt being the rather obvious ways in which Thaddeus Stevens is characterized. The film is lazily structured around a bunch of dramatic scenes about which it's difficult, or even impossible, to care, scenes that serve mainly as bridges between Lincoln's seemingly endless monologues, all of which Lewis delivers well and all of which have much relevance or resonance outside of pushing the plot forward. And, well, the Lincoln family drama has no real relevance. The powers-that-be tell me Kushner is a good writer, but between this, Munich, and the vastly overrated Angels in America, I've yet to see him demonstrate such. The movie is, as expected, filled with platitudes and cliches, and the few good moments, scattered throughout like raisins, hardly do much to redeem the film. And, of course, there are those truly Spielbergian moments of banality -
the black tailor watching Lincoln walk down the hallway to his doom, the visage of Lincoln delivering his second inaugural address materializing over the candle at the end, the pointless inclusion of the black servant
Beyond that, I don't know what else to say. The filmmaking is very mediocre, from the lazily-shot battle scene at the beginning to the unremarkable composition. The editing is especially egregious - there's one scene where
Lincoln is stoking a fire and Seward walks to a desk to take a drink, it cuts to a shot of Seward taking the drink, cuts back to the long shot, then cuts to Seward again as the two men continue conversing
Ugh. Just ugh. It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, but it's bad. Christ, what a fuckin' WASTE of a great casting choice!
brianjones
Member
jack nicholson gif
Randolph Freelander
Member
I was at Walmart today, and they had The Corpse Bride on blu-ray for like $8, so I bought it. Watched it. Not bad.
Yea, I expected this after seeing the trailer and watching War Horse.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
I liked it a lot as well. I'm sure Snowy will come around to it like he did with TWBB, the last DDL film.
SCULLIBUNDO
Banned
Snowy hates Spielberg movie. More news at 11.
Watchmen (Snyder, 2009)
Liked it much more than I thought I would. Having read the novel a couple months ago, I'm really impressed at how true it stayed to that. Also impressed that the story felt very fluid and easy to follow, something that could have easily gone awry given how complex it is. Loved the overall atmosphere and style that Snyder brought, I think he was the perfect choice. Also, I finally understand the Malin Akerman hype. Wow. Rorschach's journal, November 17, 2012.
Liked it much more than I thought I would. Having read the novel a couple months ago, I'm really impressed at how true it stayed to that. Also impressed that the story felt very fluid and easy to follow, something that could have easily gone awry given how complex it is. Loved the overall atmosphere and style that Snyder brought, I think he was the perfect choice. Also, I finally understand the Malin Akerman hype. Wow. Rorschach's journal, November 17, 2012.
I think the plan was always to have it be like 300, identical to the graphic novel. I think Synder is a capable director when there is a script and sort of set in stone way of doing things, and letting him take on an artistic visual look. Outside of that he's not very talented, just see Sucker Punch, it might be the worst film of all time. I also fear that his look is sort of being over used, and hopefully is no where near Man of Steel. 300, Watchmen, and Sucker Punch all have a very similar visual. Kind of feel like Synder was picked to do Super Man because he is not going to stand up to big studio execs and challenge them on what they want.
Rhomega Beta
Member
Brave. I really love the setting, and I've been interested in the Celts for years. The story was cute, if a bit predictable, using the regular Disney tropes. Also, I hate Merida's hair. Not a fan of redheads, or curly hair.
Frustrated_Grunt
Member
Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by it when it came out after not caring for MiB II.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
The Artist (Hazanavicius)
Cheeky and rather one-note, but brimming with visual invention and a great performance from Jean Dujardin.
Joe Bob sez check it out!
***
Iphigenia (Cacoyannis)
Much of the film suffers from odd pacing and choppier editing. While some scenescombat, in particulardeserve careful cuts and choreography due to the perils of production, strange moments, like the cut between Clytemnestra's convoy and the messenger's apprehension by Menelaus, take me out of the experience. When longer tracking shots could have worked just as well, Cacoyannis (or more his editor, perhaps) instead chops up coverage in dialogue-rich conversations. I don't normally balk at such editing in most films but, in a play adaptation that benefits from the controlled perception of space around the characters, these decisions hurt the overall cohesion of visuals and story.
I do, however, acknowledge Cacoyannis' clever usage of zooms, pan-zooms, and dolly-zoom combinations to add subtle to the implied relationships of power between each character. What would normally seem a straightforward adaptation of Euripides' interpretation of the Iphigenia story instead carries a surreal, low-end mythical atmosphere that plays with a central theme of perceived mysticism in the Greek world. These two elements of epic-scale intimacy and the inability to take the world at face value culminate in the ending, where the viewer never knows what truly happens to Iphigenia while Agamemnon looks on in horror. His fluctuating relationships with the Greeks, his wife, and his children all drive him mad, knowing full and well that he has no power against the Calchas oracle and what it means to an army that was never really his. As a tragedy, Iphigenia seems rather uneventful and straightforward; as a horror story, it conveys a world where raw influence over others is the only rule, and all other parameters exist to keep men like Agamemnon in line.
In that sense, Cacoyannis' movie brings Euripides' realistic drama into the realm of mystery and relative perception; few other directors would have pulled this kind of film experience off with as much success. And while some elements of the production, like Irene Papas' bluffing melodrama and a ruthless and percussive soundtrack, may seem gratuitous and lacking in persuasion, they all work together to create the kind of contrasting moral landscape Euripides and Cacoyannis both enjoy. Greek tragedies rarely receive adaptations both because of their dearth in location and difficulty in finding historically authenticity, but this tale at Aulis satisfies those two criteria quite easily. Agamemnon's world is as rich with foliage as it is barren and devoid of civilized men, or permanent structures worth a damn. He and the rest are all locked in chronic entanglement, and all for a woman, a petty dream of men.
Joe Bob sez check it out!
****
Senna (Kaspadia)
*****
Cheeky and rather one-note, but brimming with visual invention and a great performance from Jean Dujardin.
Joe Bob sez check it out!
***
Iphigenia (Cacoyannis)
Much of the film suffers from odd pacing and choppier editing. While some scenescombat, in particulardeserve careful cuts and choreography due to the perils of production, strange moments, like the cut between Clytemnestra's convoy and the messenger's apprehension by Menelaus, take me out of the experience. When longer tracking shots could have worked just as well, Cacoyannis (or more his editor, perhaps) instead chops up coverage in dialogue-rich conversations. I don't normally balk at such editing in most films but, in a play adaptation that benefits from the controlled perception of space around the characters, these decisions hurt the overall cohesion of visuals and story.
I do, however, acknowledge Cacoyannis' clever usage of zooms, pan-zooms, and dolly-zoom combinations to add subtle to the implied relationships of power between each character. What would normally seem a straightforward adaptation of Euripides' interpretation of the Iphigenia story instead carries a surreal, low-end mythical atmosphere that plays with a central theme of perceived mysticism in the Greek world. These two elements of epic-scale intimacy and the inability to take the world at face value culminate in the ending, where the viewer never knows what truly happens to Iphigenia while Agamemnon looks on in horror. His fluctuating relationships with the Greeks, his wife, and his children all drive him mad, knowing full and well that he has no power against the Calchas oracle and what it means to an army that was never really his. As a tragedy, Iphigenia seems rather uneventful and straightforward; as a horror story, it conveys a world where raw influence over others is the only rule, and all other parameters exist to keep men like Agamemnon in line.
In that sense, Cacoyannis' movie brings Euripides' realistic drama into the realm of mystery and relative perception; few other directors would have pulled this kind of film experience off with as much success. And while some elements of the production, like Irene Papas' bluffing melodrama and a ruthless and percussive soundtrack, may seem gratuitous and lacking in persuasion, they all work together to create the kind of contrasting moral landscape Euripides and Cacoyannis both enjoy. Greek tragedies rarely receive adaptations both because of their dearth in location and difficulty in finding historically authenticity, but this tale at Aulis satisfies those two criteria quite easily. Agamemnon's world is as rich with foliage as it is barren and devoid of civilized men, or permanent structures worth a damn. He and the rest are all locked in chronic entanglement, and all for a woman, a petty dream of men.
Joe Bob sez check it out!
****
Senna (Kaspadia)
*****
I thought he grew to dislike it not begin to appreciate it.
Feel like I should see Lincoln but don't know if I will. Did see Celine and Julie Go Boating though. Twas neat. Posted thoughts on another forum and briefly on Twitter. Phone posting too difficult for me. Will maybe post extended thoughts tomorrow. First movie I've watched all month. Slipping.
My man.
lilbaby Jesus
Member
I couldn't agree more. I think we're all sooo disappointed with Pro. because both the visuals, the concept were soo great that the movie had the potential to be as timeless as ALIEN. And of course we know what happened. It wasn't executed or written as well or careful as it should have been. When you have something with that great potential you should take special care of it. Furthermore, what we have is still good and thought provoking and some of you should look at this film again, through a new lens.
SCULLIBUNDO
Banned
What am I reading? You think Cameron threw all the sci-fi out? Cameron is the only one that believably fleshed out the science fiction elements of that universe after Scott's film.
So I just got finished watching the movie Frozen. I'm never skiing. Don't read any reviews or anything, just watch it. It's better that way.
This movie is terrific, I have actually been stuck on one of those things.
MidnightCowboy
Member
The best movie in the Alien franchise is Aliens. It's that simple. Just as much if not more tension than Alien and better action.
TheKaeptain
Banned
Alien isn't an action movie.
Yeah I thought that was pretty flawed logic too. This is the best way to point that out.
He's really not though.
Inspired by the people talking about it in the last couple of pages i finally decided to watch Prometheus - Not as bad as i expected actually, it looked great but the second half was pretty crap story-wise and the first had a couple of dumb moments too.
I liked that it tried to recapture the feeling of the first movie in the series instead of following in Aliens' footsteps since i just don't care for action stuff.
Also holy fuck, Fassbender shows again how incredible an actor he is.
I liked that it tried to recapture the feeling of the first movie in the series instead of following in Aliens' footsteps since i just don't care for action stuff.
Also holy fuck, Fassbender shows again how incredible an actor he is.
John Dunbar
correct about everything
Watched The Lion in Winter today. Wanted to see it because I enjoyed Becket and Peter O'Toole plays the same king again, and he was awesome the last time. Still is. Just watch this, holy fuck it's amazing. Also has young Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton. Katharine Hepburn is of course a great actress, but she often comes across as too theatrical for my liking, but in a movie based on a play it was suitable.
Also saw Beau Geste (1939). Very enjoyable.
Also saw Beau Geste (1939). Very enjoyable.
Terri
As aimless as its titular hero. Does have its heart in the right place, but is obviously confused about what to aim for, never develops the confidence to take its characters anywhere. It circles above the same themes and plot fragments for too long, without ever tackling any of them. Too afraid to commit to anything, be it drama, conflict or simply more detail about its characters; it beats around the narrative bush forever, and then isn't forceful enough when it gets a chance.
The writing is simple, sometimes funny, but too safe and too cute for its own good - though some of the characters are fairly charming, without a doubt, chief among them Terri himself.
There's a last act nosedive into somewhat awkward territory, the teenage actors clearly in over their head - or just poorly directed - before the film recovers to its former dullness. I haven't seen Azazel Jacobs' previous work, though I think he's capable of making a good movie. But this one isn't it.
Machete
So fucking ridiculous. So much fun.
MidnightCowboy
Member
I know that. But Aliens has the added benefit of action, while retaining all of the horror and tension of Alien. At least that's how I felt. Maybe there are less claustrophobic shots, but that's it.
The action works against it in a way by alleviating some of the tension tho.
So I just got finished watching the movie Frozen. I'm never skiing. Don't read any reviews or anything, just watch it. It's better that way.
So this is good? I ignored it whenever it was shown cause I thought it's just a b-movie with annoying teens.
well, you're wrong. its a b movie with annoying 20-somethings.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Pretty fun movie, i enjoyed it although it was hard to stay concentrated throughout it all. Would have been a lot better to watch with some friends, but i was definitely surprised by the entertainment i got out of it.
The Dark Knight Rises
This is kind of a long movie but it kept my attention and concentration the entire time. It was thoroughly bad ass. I even enjoyed Bane's voice.
wondering if i dare attempt the LOTR trilogy. i've tried twice in the past and never lasted more than 30 minutes.
Pretty fun movie, i enjoyed it although it was hard to stay concentrated throughout it all. Would have been a lot better to watch with some friends, but i was definitely surprised by the entertainment i got out of it.
The Dark Knight Rises
This is kind of a long movie but it kept my attention and concentration the entire time. It was thoroughly bad ass. I even enjoyed Bane's voice.
wondering if i dare attempt the LOTR trilogy. i've tried twice in the past and never lasted more than 30 minutes.
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