What is that supposed to mean?
Movies You've Seen Recently: Return of the Revenge of the Curse of the...
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What is that supposed to mean?
AlternativeUlster
Absolutely pathetic part deux
Haha. Nothing.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
One from the heart, guys!
Eat Drink Man Woman (Ang Lee)
Sleep Pee Boy Lass describes parts of the film rather well. It's a robust family drama, of course, but even an early Ang Lee feature's going to have problems.
Lee's story covers some interesting relationships with just the best quantity of detail, but I feel like he skipped over the youngest daughter's specifics, and the movie suffers all the more for it. Jia-Ning looks sweet, but she doesn't receive the same level of development as Jia-Jen, which would have balanced out the story progression by detracting some unnecessary details from Jia-Chien's plot-line. I also don't appreciate the inconsistent editing that crops up towards the end of the film, including context manatees like the traffic montages and cluttered family dinner sequences that, though humorous and necessary, should have marked the ends of story acts more precisely. I'll repeat what I usually say about simpler movies like Eat Drink Man Woman: the more spare a story, the more focus it needs to succeed. Alongside wooden melodrama in several sequences, the editing kind of kills the overall pacing and information output.
But, all that aside, this is Lee's most personal story, involving green cards, chicaning relationships, and the kitchen as social utopia. I certainly think it explores his worldview through the master chef's slow crawl towards family freedom; to think he never escapes his obligations to his daughters! Lee's characters nearly kill themselves over their inarticulate social lives, but only Chu understands that harmony comes from the simpler things in life, like philosophical health and healthy eating. Even when against the impromptu damages of nature and the accelerating pace of post-modern life, he's able to secure the lives of his daughters and neighbors almost effortlessly.
In a lot of ways, Lee's story never lets on to more character development than necessary, crafting Taiwanese role models out of each troubled individual. Eat Drink Man Woman mirrors his own difficulties involving his life in New York in the 1980s, and he communicates similar themes of worn-out living through Chu and the family daughters. I truly enjoy Lee's silent combination of archetypal story-telling with contemporary aesthetics, as heard through the movie's excellent, eclectic soundtrack. I do acknowledge, however, that Eat Drink Man Woman suffers from a young director's inexperience in editing and communicating the most important moments of all.
Joe Bob sez check it out!
****
•
Paths of Glory (Kubrick)
Since most of Paths of Glory consists of perfectly-realized character development, I think it's the little details that stand out more so than the big picture; some niggles crop up out of line as a result. I definitely think General Mireau's quick turn from a possible sympathizer of Dax's troops to a big-shiny glutton in the throes of being played by General Broulard felt awkward, if only because there's only one sequence of development right at the start. Kubrick also could have defined the camera's relationship to Dax more clearly—I don't understand why the director used so many close-ups on Dax in the headquarters if, as voyeurs, the audience is viewing the colonel as dwarfed in a vast complex. Lastly, some of the earlier transitions happened too quickly (not leaving a fitting amount of dead space at the end of conversations or in shots), and much of the length given to the recon trip would have benefited a longer push on the Ant-hill, or a satirically-too-long firing squad sequence!
These little flaws give Paths of Glory a kind of charm; I'm picky when it comes to Kubrick (though I adore the man's work), and this movie strikes the best balance between length, thematic development, and overall watchability. Perfection's of little importance when the smallest tragedies of war so completely symbolize Western decadence and hypocrisy in a time of crisis. All the actors feel right at home in playing their roles with subtle physicality; Kubrick's visual style paints both the no-man's-land and the no-soldier's-headquarters as dead, shelled either by war or by expired relics of a glorious past. What Mireau once was no longer is, yet his claims against three soldiers faced with undesirable sacrifice silently showcase the ultimate message of masculine cowardice, a theme Kubrick simply loves to exploit.
So many elements collide like giddy electrons in this film, and those that don't instead emit more unique reactions. Timothy Carey acts as the most interesting of the three soldiers on trial, with his oafish looks concealing honest innocence; Kirk Douglas' own performance as Dax works not because he chews the scenery, but because Dax himself cannot fully articulate his own feelings of powerlessness, and this prevents him from fighting the powers that be. None of this hit me too bluntly when watching, and I thank the director for not batting his viewers on the head with a simplified anti-war message.
Joe Bob sez check it out.
*****
Eat Drink Man Woman (Ang Lee)
Sleep Pee Boy Lass describes parts of the film rather well. It's a robust family drama, of course, but even an early Ang Lee feature's going to have problems.
Lee's story covers some interesting relationships with just the best quantity of detail, but I feel like he skipped over the youngest daughter's specifics, and the movie suffers all the more for it. Jia-Ning looks sweet, but she doesn't receive the same level of development as Jia-Jen, which would have balanced out the story progression by detracting some unnecessary details from Jia-Chien's plot-line. I also don't appreciate the inconsistent editing that crops up towards the end of the film, including context manatees like the traffic montages and cluttered family dinner sequences that, though humorous and necessary, should have marked the ends of story acts more precisely. I'll repeat what I usually say about simpler movies like Eat Drink Man Woman: the more spare a story, the more focus it needs to succeed. Alongside wooden melodrama in several sequences, the editing kind of kills the overall pacing and information output.
But, all that aside, this is Lee's most personal story, involving green cards, chicaning relationships, and the kitchen as social utopia. I certainly think it explores his worldview through the master chef's slow crawl towards family freedom; to think he never escapes his obligations to his daughters! Lee's characters nearly kill themselves over their inarticulate social lives, but only Chu understands that harmony comes from the simpler things in life, like philosophical health and healthy eating. Even when against the impromptu damages of nature and the accelerating pace of post-modern life, he's able to secure the lives of his daughters and neighbors almost effortlessly.
In a lot of ways, Lee's story never lets on to more character development than necessary, crafting Taiwanese role models out of each troubled individual. Eat Drink Man Woman mirrors his own difficulties involving his life in New York in the 1980s, and he communicates similar themes of worn-out living through Chu and the family daughters. I truly enjoy Lee's silent combination of archetypal story-telling with contemporary aesthetics, as heard through the movie's excellent, eclectic soundtrack. I do acknowledge, however, that Eat Drink Man Woman suffers from a young director's inexperience in editing and communicating the most important moments of all.
Joe Bob sez check it out!
****
•
Paths of Glory (Kubrick)
Since most of Paths of Glory consists of perfectly-realized character development, I think it's the little details that stand out more so than the big picture; some niggles crop up out of line as a result. I definitely think General Mireau's quick turn from a possible sympathizer of Dax's troops to a big-shiny glutton in the throes of being played by General Broulard felt awkward, if only because there's only one sequence of development right at the start. Kubrick also could have defined the camera's relationship to Dax more clearly—I don't understand why the director used so many close-ups on Dax in the headquarters if, as voyeurs, the audience is viewing the colonel as dwarfed in a vast complex. Lastly, some of the earlier transitions happened too quickly (not leaving a fitting amount of dead space at the end of conversations or in shots), and much of the length given to the recon trip would have benefited a longer push on the Ant-hill, or a satirically-too-long firing squad sequence!
These little flaws give Paths of Glory a kind of charm; I'm picky when it comes to Kubrick (though I adore the man's work), and this movie strikes the best balance between length, thematic development, and overall watchability. Perfection's of little importance when the smallest tragedies of war so completely symbolize Western decadence and hypocrisy in a time of crisis. All the actors feel right at home in playing their roles with subtle physicality; Kubrick's visual style paints both the no-man's-land and the no-soldier's-headquarters as dead, shelled either by war or by expired relics of a glorious past. What Mireau once was no longer is, yet his claims against three soldiers faced with undesirable sacrifice silently showcase the ultimate message of masculine cowardice, a theme Kubrick simply loves to exploit.
So many elements collide like giddy electrons in this film, and those that don't instead emit more unique reactions. Timothy Carey acts as the most interesting of the three soldiers on trial, with his oafish looks concealing honest innocence; Kirk Douglas' own performance as Dax works not because he chews the scenery, but because Dax himself cannot fully articulate his own feelings of powerlessness, and this prevents him from fighting the powers that be. None of this hit me too bluntly when watching, and I thank the director for not batting his viewers on the head with a simplified anti-war message.
Joe Bob sez check it out.
*****
8BitsAtATime
Member
I thought Charles Foster Kane was doing the new OT
Ah, don't worry bout it dude. Somebody had to make the OT. Better than nothing.
Gonna decide to watch Gladiator as the last film for 2012 since I have never seen it and always get shit on from my friends about it.
adamsappel
Member
I tried to watch this a couple of weeks ago. I found it extremely dated. The movie stops dead in the beginning so Doris Day can sing Que Sera Sera in its entirety. I was very bored by it.
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
Dries
Member
Couple good 'uns:
Life of Pi: beautiful directing and a worthy film that does the book justice.
Robocop: Watched this classic for the first time. Absolutely awesome! Lots of gore, and a great story.
Nightmare on Elm st: Solid horror flick.
Another year: great acting and great script. Really pure film making. Excellent.
Life of Pi: beautiful directing and a worthy film that does the book justice.
Robocop: Watched this classic for the first time. Absolutely awesome! Lots of gore, and a great story.
Nightmare on Elm st: Solid horror flick.
Another year: great acting and great script. Really pure film making. Excellent.
Messofanego
Banned
Bernie
Checked this out because it was getting awards buzz (maybe because of Linklater), it's a dark comedy, and Jack Black getting nominated for his performance. I was like, pfft, Jack Black? I love him, but a proper performance?
Really cool "based on a true story" movie. It's Linklater so it brings that sort of a mockumentary feel from Waking Life, where the whole town speaks of Bernie and his relation to the rich "bitch" Marjorie Nugent. These are the kind of true stories that are awesome in movies, not boring biographical films where everyone knows the dude and you're there just to see the actor facsimile. Bernie, a super super nice mortician of the town of Carthage, Texas takes care of Marjorie but the evil of her is too much against his niceness. They do show both sides of Bernie which makes you sympathise with him even after committing a huge crime.
Jack Black totally earns the award buzz for his performance, something totally out of left field with a lot of range to his performance although he does bring his amazing falsetto from Tenacious D when he's singing church songs or in his favorite past-time of musicals. Matthew McConaughey in another Texas movie but the complete opposite role as in Killer Joe here as a bewildered district attorney who doesn't understand why the whole town supports Bernie when he does the nasty deed and also has it in for "closeted homosexuals" which made me laugh with the "Is Bernie Gay?" section.
I'm really surprised they didn't change the character names for confidentiality, and when you see the actual couple at the end. Glad I saw it.
One of the funniest bits is the local describing the different counties of Texas. The bit about Panhandle had me laughing out loud (any Texans want to fill me in why it's left out in people's minds?). The Austin bit of basically it being hippies explains why the Alamo Drafthouse and all that culture is there, I want to go sometime.
I say we push this 60 posts to the lock. Might as well.
watched The Imposter last night. The director's technique, which I could have predicted came from working on high-key docu-TV like Locked Up, feels pretty exploitative and leading at times. By the end it seems that the very visible seams in editing and reenactment were so apparent intentionally, gets you to consider the futility of trying to create narrative from real life events. But the only way it gets you to do that is by having the first 90 minutes of the movie sort of fall apart; when your big finale is
, you make a point while sacrificing the rest of your movie. Dunno, just found it to be a weird contradiction. Made for an interesting film, but I think a more distanced take on it could be more fascinating.
watched The Imposter last night. The director's technique, which I could have predicted came from working on high-key docu-TV like Locked Up, feels pretty exploitative and leading at times. By the end it seems that the very visible seams in editing and reenactment were so apparent intentionally, gets you to consider the futility of trying to create narrative from real life events. But the only way it gets you to do that is by having the first 90 minutes of the movie sort of fall apart; when your big finale is
calling everything that has been said into question
But isn't that the point?
It's my favorite documentary of the year, though that means very little, as I've not seen much.
The main character is an incredible artist, manipulating those around him. It's a nice touch to confuse the audience as well with the family, trying to suggest that the family did something to their actual son is, I thought, pretty clever. That final shot with them in the backyard digging up the ground while the camera shows the hole with nothing in it is pretty incredible.
TheKaeptain
Banned
I think so.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
I'm not surprised: it took me a while to get acclimated with the in-jokes and going-ons of Movie-GAF. I wonder if we could link interesting posts/parts of conversations in the next thread's OP, so that new viewers can catch up. On the other hand, we'd start talking about that effort more than about the movies we're watching.
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
Totally, specially if it's kind of a community thread were there's almost always the same members.
I remember feeling like I didn't fit in thread at the beginning (not that I do
). Everyone new each other and all.I don't really feel like the people here are a tight knit group and certainly don't feel that there are many, if any, "in-jokes" here. People just say they've watched (hopefully watched and not watching at the point of posting, no?) a movie and then talk about it in whatever degree of detail that they choose. Occasionally, there's talk about events going on with a particular city (Fantastic Fest and Alamo going-ons in Austin) and non-movie talk sometimes.
I don't think many of the people that have started posting in the new topic (er, thread...whatever) will be consistent. But I'm often wrong.
TheKaeptain
Banned
Yeah there are only like four of us that actually chat off of gaf. Even though we only chat about movies on gaf.
You always chat with swoon and never involve the rest of us on Twitter. I feel so left out. And then fucking sefskillz (it feels weird using handles at this point but whatever) keeps on letting me down with that cool domain. BUT WHATEVER
my 2013 resolution is to make meli happy with my domain
AlternativeUlster
Absolutely pathetic part deux
I don't even know what you are talking about with that cool domain. I just napped for like 5 hours and have no idea what is going on. There is a shit ton of new people in the new thread indeed.
TheKaeptain
Banned
AU I agree with your assessment of Hold Me While I'm Naked.
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
I wish I had friends who liked movies a lot, and maybe discuss one from time to time.
No one I've met even like to watch black and white movies. They wouldn't give one a chance, or older movies in general.
No one I've met even like to watch black and white movies. They wouldn't give one a chance, or older movies in general.
TheKaeptain
Banned
You can be my friend.
Buckethead
Banned
Same, bruv.
Hard finding people to go to midnight showings in my neck of the woods.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
I've only met a couple at my high school who care, and even then they're either too busy to watch or their parents are needlessly conservative. I watched Django with one of them today, and I suspect he's going to be my local film buddy for quite a while.
Thanks to GAF, I'm more courageous than my local peers in tackling more obscure, sometimes difficult material. I wouldn't have gotten into this hobby (and potential career, I hope) without y'all's interesting posts; the burden's on me to do the same for my schoolmates.
Thanks to GAF, I'm more courageous than my local peers in tackling more obscure, sometimes difficult material. I wouldn't have gotten into this hobby (and potential career, I hope) without y'all's interesting posts; the burden's on me to do the same for my schoolmates.
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
Thanks man!
********
Yeah, everything has to have really fast pacing too. Otherwise many are bored to death
AlternativeUlster
Absolutely pathetic part deux
It is truly the greatest cinema may ever get.
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
I saw you're comments in letterboxd. Hope to check it out.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
Well: art-forms evolve with the people responsible, and most peeps I know these days want their shit now now now now now and they don't understand how to chill and enjoy some dead space. It's the darnedest shame, and I think my peer's lack of appreciation for history and understanding how earlier generations thought hurts their film-watching abilities. I can put myself in the shoes of a Gay Nineties child and, as a result, watch stuff like The Golem with ease. There's nothing wrong with older movies so long as one assumes they catered to a different mind-set back then.Yeah, everything has to have really fast pacing too. Otherwise many are bored to death
—That's what makes them even more interesting than some of the more contemporary films I've seen.
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
I once tried to show something like 2001 to a friend. Long story short, he will never ever take another movie recommendation from me. lol
He likes to smoke weed, so I thought that'd help
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
Just saw Hold Me While I'm Naked and it was really awesome. There's some pretty clever stuff in there. It's was a great way to start my movie year, watching something completely unexpected. I'd appreciate recommendations for interesting (unusual) stuff like this.
I'm a sucker for angles too and loved the mirror smoking shot (and the bed on fire).
You're right, but I can't shake this weird feeling I got from the film. I think it's the kind of thing I just need to digest for a while.
Has anyone seen hope springs? I won't give it away but I have to say
I was surprised by Tommy Lees Jones character at the end of the movie. It really surprised me that he let his guard down like that. I honestly expected a divorce. His wife even talked about being seperated.
only 30 more posts man. we can discuss your new avatar if you want
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
I just watched The Moderns and The Last Laugh, two films about the '20s that take different approaches. The former's an oblique commentary on the growing irrelevance of art, and the latter's a metaphorical tale of pre-Weimar Germany dying away. Both movies had something else up their sleeves, especially The Last Laugh's dream-like, self-aware ending.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
aint got to 20,000 posts yet, baby
quick, everybody make something up
quick, everybody make something up
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
Masters of Cinema has better transfers and cares more for the average cinephile than Criterion.
Kidding.
Maybe the silent-film cinephile, but that's pushing it since Criterion's got a long-term advantage.
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
ViewtifulJC
Banned
filler awards for 2012 here we gooooooooo
Best performance in a very flawed movie: Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben in the Amazing Spider-Man
Best "didn't get the memo the '70s were over" director: Ben Affleck, for Argo
Best CGI animal: Richard Parker from Life of Pi
Best CGI hair: Merida's, Brave
Worst line delivery: "WHARISDAHBOMBBB" Christain Bale's attempt to say "Where is the Bomb!?" in The Dark Knight Rises
Most viscerally satisfying ending: Django Unchained
Best story: Lincoln's story about brits scared shitless of George Washington
Most Awkward costume: wherever the fuck that armor Kristen Stewart had in Snow White
Most surprisingly good film: 21 Jump Street
Best film your girl dragged you to: Magic Mike
Most cliches stuffed in a climax: Argo
Worst dialog: All the future post-apocalypse shit in Cloud Atlas, for true-true
Best make-up job: "I'm a raven" - Moonrise Kingdom
Worst make-up job: the yellowface in Cloud Atlas
Worst make-up job than even Cloud Atlas: Old Guy Pearce in Prometheus
Perfect scene in not-so-good movie: Riddles in the Dark from the Hobbit
Biggest fanboy moment: that extended shot of all the Avengers working together in The Avengers
Best use of Song: "Freedom" in Django Unchained
Best fight by a guy who still can't direct action very well: Bane vs Batman underground in The Dark Knight Rises
Most "wtf did M. Night Shayladingdong direct this third act" finale: the climax of Looper
Best trailer: The Master teaser trailer #1
Best jump cut: Bond sitting at an icey-lookin' bar in the middle of nowhere, resting on his folded arms, in Skyfall
Most deceiving advertisement for a movie: the people who advertised The Grey as "Liam Neeson fighting wolves" instead of "survival film but also thinks about life and philosophy and shit and Liam Neeson doesn't fight that wolf"
Most heartbreaking scene even though you see it coming, it's like a freight train barreling at you: Ralph wrecking that car in Wreck-It Ralph
Most in need of a damn screenwriter: Paul Thomas Anderson, if the Master is any indication
Best comeback: Snowy's inevitable return to shit on Spielberg and people who just didn't "get" Shame
Best performance in a very flawed movie: Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben in the Amazing Spider-Man
Best "didn't get the memo the '70s were over" director: Ben Affleck, for Argo
Best CGI animal: Richard Parker from Life of Pi
Best CGI hair: Merida's, Brave
Worst line delivery: "WHARISDAHBOMBBB" Christain Bale's attempt to say "Where is the Bomb!?" in The Dark Knight Rises
Most viscerally satisfying ending: Django Unchained
Best story: Lincoln's story about brits scared shitless of George Washington
Most Awkward costume: wherever the fuck that armor Kristen Stewart had in Snow White
Most surprisingly good film: 21 Jump Street
Best film your girl dragged you to: Magic Mike
Most cliches stuffed in a climax: Argo
Worst dialog: All the future post-apocalypse shit in Cloud Atlas, for true-true
Best make-up job: "I'm a raven" - Moonrise Kingdom
Worst make-up job: the yellowface in Cloud Atlas
Worst make-up job than even Cloud Atlas: Old Guy Pearce in Prometheus
Perfect scene in not-so-good movie: Riddles in the Dark from the Hobbit
Biggest fanboy moment: that extended shot of all the Avengers working together in The Avengers
Best use of Song: "Freedom" in Django Unchained
Best fight by a guy who still can't direct action very well: Bane vs Batman underground in The Dark Knight Rises
Most "wtf did M. Night Shayladingdong direct this third act" finale: the climax of Looper
Best trailer: The Master teaser trailer #1
Best jump cut: Bond sitting at an icey-lookin' bar in the middle of nowhere, resting on his folded arms, in Skyfall
Most deceiving advertisement for a movie: the people who advertised The Grey as "Liam Neeson fighting wolves" instead of "survival film but also thinks about life and philosophy and shit and Liam Neeson doesn't fight that wolf"
Most heartbreaking scene even though you see it coming, it's like a freight train barreling at you: Ralph wrecking that car in Wreck-It Ralph
Most in need of a damn screenwriter: Paul Thomas Anderson, if the Master is any indication
Best comeback: Snowy's inevitable return to shit on Spielberg and people who just didn't "get" Shame
This innocence? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innocence_(2004_film).
Been meaning to see that for a while. Remember the film being described as a cross between david lynch and picnic at hanging rock!
theytookourjobz
Junior Member
Texas Chainsaw 3D.
The best worst movie I've seen in awhile. I really want someone else to see it so I can find out if I'm crazy.
The best worst movie I've seen in awhile. I really want someone else to see it so I can find out if I'm crazy.
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