I've been thinking a lot lately about audience reactions while watching a film at the cinema. Maybe it's because I grew up in Ireland where unless it's a comedy, you sit in complete silence.
Anytime I've gone to the cinema in the US, the audience are clapping and cheering, saying "oh oh" or "do go in there" during moments of tension, and so on.
I just find the whole experience to be surreal and somewhat annoying.
Some films demand respectful silence (Toronto has good crowds, in my experience, whether it's art house cinemas or something like TIFF). Some films, you wanna feed off the energy of a crowd (genre stuff, comedy obviously, stuff like Get Out is great for this, and TIFF is again good for this with its Midnight Madness program, featuring the rowdiest bunch of motherfuckers I've ever watched movies with).
The Last Days of Disco (1998): As with Whit Stillman's other work, this is a dry and deadpan comedy, but in this case with the additional benefit of a great disco soundtrack (though perhaps these club scenes come, to some extent, at the expense of the longer conversations that make up his other work). All the same, it's consistently amusing all the way through.
Cover Girl (1944): Rita Hayworth is undeniably a magnetic screen presence, and she and Gene Kelly (then an on-the-rise talent in musicals) can dance up a storm. Kelly's dance duet with himself is a technical feat that holds up even today, as well. The film initially appears to be using only diegetic music, but rather confusingly incorporates a couple of non-diegetic numbers beginning at the half-hour mark. The whole subplot involving Hayworth's character's grandmother (also played by Hayworth) adds nothing to the proceedings.
Pocketful of Miracles (1961): As the great Canadian canoeist Adam van Koeverden remarked after a disappointing close to his competitive career at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the last act isn't always the best. That applies to Pocketful of Miracles, the cinematic farewell of Frank Capra, one of the greatest directors of the golden age of Hollywood.
This is a remake of Capra's own earlier film Lady for a Day, released in 1933. I haven't seen it, but it's listed as being 96 minutes long, whereas Pocketful of Miracles comes in at 136 minutes. Considering the virtual absence of the masterful comic timing that characterized Capra's old screwball features, it's not hard to conclude he has seriously padded this endeavour. There isn't even a ton of outright comedy in the film, even though the premise is clearly geared for farce. The cast is impressive, from old veterans like Bette Davis, Thomas Mitchell and Lubitsch regular Edward Everett Horton to the film debut of Ann-Margret. But none is given all that much to do.
The Lost City of Z (9/10) - I'm on a pretty great streak of movies here. Been loving everything I've seen over the last week and this is no exception.
It's a large, sprawling film, and I could nitpick things here and there were I so inclined (I felt the final journey was too abrupt, the relationship perhaps not developed enough, i.e. more screen time was needed for Tom Holland, and this is a movie with lots of characters and plots fighting for time, e.g. the WWI material is also hurried and doesn't always land, e.g. the death of one supporting character, and etc. and etc.), but it's also such an elegant and monumental piece of filmmaking that the wrinkles eventually fade away, and all that remains is the immensity of the experience. James Gray has worked some kind of uncanny magic here, and I have no reservations calling this the greatest achievement of his career (at least in terms of scope, and possibly overall; I might still prefer Two Lovers, but I am not sure at the moment). If there's a longer cut of this thing, give it to me. Give it to me now.
The ending took my breath away. The
nonlinear montage, the dinner scene, the shots of Fawcett as his wife gives birth, the poem, I love you dad, I love you son, and being carried away to the fires in the distance...
I felt the weight of all existence in those moments. I felt my soul stirring. "A man's reach should always exceed his grasp." Indeed.
Glad you liked it so much, and yeah I'm agreed with your criticisms of it but they don't take away from my general feeling about the film. That final shot, whew.
You mean to say that cinema has been playing catch up ever since, right? You're right about the suit looking cheap in spots, mainly at the end. Aside from that, it's about as good of an example as you could get about how to use a camera to hide flaws and add to the atmosphere. That's one thing I hated about the Covenant trailer. The creatures can be CGI now so it's shown in full while exposed in broad daylight. I shudder to think what Jaws would be like if it was filmed today. The damn shark would be jumping out of the water and doing all of these gimmicky "cool" shots.
Anyways, you've got a roller coaster coming up with Aliens, have fun man.
I've been thinking a lot lately about audience reactions while watching a film at the cinema. Maybe it's because I grew up in Ireland where unless it's a comedy, you sit in complete silence.
Anytime I've gone to the cinema in the US, the audience are clapping and cheering, saying "oh oh" or "do go in there" during moments of tension, and so on.
I just find the whole experience to be surreal and somewhat annoying.
I have always considered myself a fan of the Alien franchise. I was wrong, I was so wrong. Besides two stellar movies, the majority of the movies are a mixed bag at best. It is admirable that both 3 and 4 try to do new things; add to the universe, expand on it and take it in new direction. But each in their own way they are rife with problems.
Ranking
Alien - 10/10
Aliens - 9/10
AVP: Alien vs. Predator - 6/10
Prometheus - 6/10
Alien³ - 5/10
Alien: Resurrection - 4/10
AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem - 2/10
Still torn on whether Covenant is worth a trip to the theater...probably not.
Drive
Very late to the party, I finally got around to seeing this film. I believe the hype is deserved. It kept me completely enthralled to the end, Gosling was great and it had a wonderful aesthetic and soundtrack.
Session 9
A decent, weird psychological thriller. The asylum setting is sufficiently creepy, but lack of payoff for the ending and some understandably amateurish acting soured it for me.
I mean, it is only 80 minutes, but that's bound to frustrate because it's so lean on material. I still can't believe that they couldn't get a single word from Nakadai about the man.
I have always considered myself a fan of the Alien franchise. I was wrong, I was so wrong. Besides two stellar movies, the majority of the movies are a mixed bag at best. It is admirable that both 3 and 4 try to do new things; add to the universe, expand on it and take it in new direction. But each in their own way they are rife with problems.
Ranking
Alien - 10/10
Aliens - 9/10
AVP: Alien vs. Predator - 6/10
Prometheus - 6/10
Alien³ - 5/10
Alien: Resurrection - 4/10
AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem - 2/10
Still torn on whether Covenant is worth a trip to the theater...probably not.
I'm gonna rewatch the incredible first two, and I'm considering watching the Fincher one for the first time so I can form an opinion on it, but I have no interest in going beyond that. I found Prometheus to be such an disappointingly hollow theater experience. I remember actually leaving the theater upset. Havent felt that same disappointment since. I think I'm gonna give Covenant a shot, but my expectations are very low this time.
I have always considered myself a fan of the Alien franchise. I was wrong, I was so wrong. Besides two stellar movies, the majority of the movies are a mixed bag at best. It is admirable that both 3 and 4 try to do new things; add to the universe, expand on it and take it in new direction. But each in their own way they are rife with problems.
Ranking
Alien - 10/10
Aliens - 9/10
AVP: Alien vs. Predator - 6/10
Prometheus - 6/10
Alien³ - 5/10
Alien: Resurrection - 4/10
AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem - 2/10
Still torn on whether Covenant is worth a trip to the theater...probably not.
These are pretty much what my ratings would be on a 10 point scale as well. I'm also torn on whether Covenant is worth a theater visit or is just a "wait for Redbox" kind of thing.
I'm gonna rewatch the incredible first two, and I'm considering watching the Fincher one for the first time so I can form an opinion on it, but I have no interest in going beyond that. I found Prometheus to be such an disappointingly hollow theater experience. I remember actually leaving the theater upset. Havent felt that same disappointment since. I think I'm gonna give Covenant a shot, but my expectations are very low this time.
I think Alien 3 is pretty good, apart from the crappy 3rd act...or almost any scene involving the alien itself. It's at least worth watching as interesting case study for such a mess of a production. Considering all that happened the end result is pretty good.
Bonnie and Clyde
Rewatch. 50th anniversary screening at a local theater, where the woman introducing the film saw it as an appropriate time to go over Bonnie and Clyde's life story and explain the entire plot of the film, down to the end, along with specific scene and shot descriptions. What the fuck. What an asshole! I'd already seen the movie, but my girlfriend hadn't (and didn't even know who Bonnie and Clyde were) and a handful of people in the theater hadn't seen it yet either and were clearly pissed. After hearing complaints in the crowd, she said, "Oh, was that a spoiler? Ok, I'll cut it short then." Motherfucker, you already said everything!
...anyway. It's a good movie, and I can see the French New Wave influence much more clearly now than I did when I first saw this about 6-7 years ago (watching a handful of New Wave films between then and likely helped). The production is really rough around the edges, whether in terms of the audio or even the quality of the print itself, but like a spaghetti western, it adds to the charm. Some strong shootout sequences. I don't think this is anywhere near Beatty's best film (maybe not even top 5), but it's a good performance and Faye Dunaway is great in it. Gene Wilder's cameo is fun. How in the world Estelle Parsons won an Oscar for this, I don't know.
7/10
It wasn't that bad. If they didn't do so much found footage, blurry, barf fest it would have been a lot better. I thought the story was pretty cool though. That said, somebody hyped it pretty hard to me so once I saw it I was a bit let down. Hype doesn't help me.
Bonnie and Clyde
Rewatch. 50th anniversary screening at a local theater, where the woman introducing the film saw it as an appropriate time to go over Bonnie and Clyde's life story and explain the entire plot of the film, down to the end, along with specific scene and shot descriptions. What the fuck. What an asshole! I'd already seen the movie, but my girlfriend hadn't (and didn't even know who Bonnie and Clyde were) and a handful of people in the theater hadn't seen it yet either and were clearly pissed. After hearing complaints in the crowd, she said, "Oh, was that a spoiler? Ok, I'll cut it short then." Motherfucker, you already said everything!
job(5 days a week), gf of 2 years, and gym 6 days a week(check fitness thread)
it is about time management. Instead of spending hours on GAF/youtube/watching cable spend that time on movies. Instead of playing MMOS like league use that time on a movie.
also it is rare for a movie to be 3 hours. average length is closer to 2.
I feel like the imagery wasn't as strong as on his previous releases and it all felt too one tone and without no bigger statements. The narrative is probably the easiest to follow on a surface level. I'll see how this one sits on my mind on the next few days.
Bonnie and Clyde
Rewatch. 50th anniversary screening at a local theater, where the woman introducing the film saw it as an appropriate time to go over Bonnie and Clyde's life story and explain the entire plot of the film, down to the end, along with specific scene and shot descriptions. What the fuck. What an asshole! I'd already seen the movie, but my girlfriend hadn't (and didn't even know who Bonnie and Clyde were) and a handful of people in the theater hadn't seen it yet either and were clearly pissed. After hearing complaints in the crowd, she said, "Oh, was that a spoiler? Ok, I'll cut it short then." Motherfucker, you already said everything!
Finally got around to watching Get Out. I hadn't watched the trailer beforehand so I was pleasantly surprised by how it all went down.
I'm a fan of the Key and Peele sketches that took a dark turn, so I was anticipating this film quite a bit.
Great attention to detail, like why
Rose didn't let the cop get Chris' ID, The deer being vermin comment, the "Black mold in the basement" comment, the parents several times bringing up the smoking to Chris, the Grandpa hugging the white guests at the party, etc. One more thing that stood out to me was Rose's reaction to the parents saying the party was this weekend, in the first act. It seemed a bit fake/forced, but at the moment I attributed it to bad, awkward acting. Seeing how good of a job she did the rest of the movie, I have no doubt that this was intentional.
I also really loved the idea of
the "hosts" of the body still being conscious and looking on helplessly as their body is used by someone else.
It reminded me a bit of some of Polanski's thrillers, such as Rosemary's Baby, The Tenant and Frantic. How one person is surrounded by sketchy people and gets increasingly paranoid.
Bonnie and Clyde
Rewatch. 50th anniversary screening at a local theater, where the woman introducing the film saw it as an appropriate time to go over Bonnie and Clyde's life story and explain the entire plot of the film, down to the end, along with specific scene and shot descriptions. What the fuck. What an asshole! I'd already seen the movie, but my girlfriend hadn't (and didn't even know who Bonnie and Clyde were) and a handful of people in the theater hadn't seen it yet either and were clearly pissed. After hearing complaints in the crowd, she said, "Oh, was that a spoiler? Ok, I'll cut it short then." Motherfucker, you already said everything!
...anyway. It's a good movie, and I can see the French New Wave influence much more clearly now than I did when I first saw this about 6-7 years ago (watching a handful of New Wave films between then and likely helped). The production is really rough around the edges, whether in terms of the audio or even the quality of the print itself, but like a spaghetti western, it adds to the charm. Some strong shootout sequences. I don't think this is anywhere near Beatty's best film (maybe not even top 5), but it's a good performance and Faye Dunaway is great in it. Gene Wilder's cameo is fun. How in the world Estelle Parsons won an Oscar for this, I don't know.
7/10
We used to have a TV show in Ireland in the 90's that would show a classic film every Saturday night at 11PM. It's where I first watched Planet Of The Apes, 2001, Casablanca, Mr Smith Goes To Washington, Citizen Kane, Dr. Strangelove, and films like that. But the host of the show would give a ten-minute intro to each film, like what Mark Kermode used to do on Channel 4 in the UK. He would also spoil the major plot points of the film. Not as bad as Peter Griffin, but you kind of knew what was going to happen.
Madadayo 1993
★★★½
This filmed hit me and made me wish I too could touch people's lives like the professor. The professor reminded me of Kurosawa in his late age. A well achieved person with many followers. Someone who knew they were close to death but not quite yet. Despite his many achievements he is still human, and that is what makes it so touching. What a fitting end to Kurosawa's work. R.I.P.
Like I said ranking all these films is hard, but I should have a list up soon.
No I'd seen it already, I was just annoyed by the principle of it. My girlfriend went with me to see it and didn't know the movie or the real life story at all.
We used to have a TV show in Ireland in the 90's that would show a classic film every Saturday night at 11PM. It's where I first watched Planet Of The Apes, 2001, Casablanca, Mr Smith Goes To Washington, Citizen Kane, Dr. Strangelove, and films like that. But the host of the show would give a ten-minute intro to each film, like what Mark Kermode used to do on Channel 4 in the UK. He would also spoil the major plot points of the film. Not as bad as Peter Griffin, but you kind of knew what was going to happen.
saw Miss Sloane last night, really enjoyed it. Some really great performances in it. I find the whole gun issue in the US fascinating at times as I live in a country which has very strict gun laws, even our police don't carry guns.
Going to go see King Arthur tonight. Don't know what to really expect from it. Have a feeling it could just be a run of the mill summer movie aka popcorn fodder.
That new King Arthur thing really is the most awful nonsense imaginable. I'll try and write out something a bit more intelligent about it, but it was so dull and empty and shit its hard to do.
That new King Arthur thing really is the most awful nonsense imaginable. I'll try and write out something a bit more intelligent about it, but it was so dull and empty and shit its hard to do.
Arrival is an excellent example of a good premise with a so-so execution, mostly owing to the philosophically and psychologically questionable (if not outright absurd) twist toward the end, though the choice to have Amy Adams' storyline revolve around a dead child is not necessarily less cliche because there is a slight inversion in how it's incorporated, either.
La La Land has an excellent ending that deserved a better movie to build up to it.
Arrival is an excellent example of a good premise with a so-so execution, mostly owing to the philosophically and psychologically questionable (if not outright absurd) twist toward the end, though the choice to have Amy Adams' storyline revolve around a dead child is not necessarily less cliche because there is a slight inversion in how it's incorporated, either.
La La Land has an excellent ending that deserved a better movie to build up to it.
I still think the opening number was the best part of La La Land. A bombastic large-scale musical in that regard, elongated, would be glorious. o_o
Speaking of musicals, just did a half-rewatch and Anne's I Dreamed a Dream in Les Miserables gets me everytime...Fantine is such a tragic character. *cries into hanky*
I still think the opening number was the best part of La La Land. A bombastic large-scale musical in that regard, elongated, would be glorious. o_o
Speaking of musicals, just did a half-rewatch and Anne's I Dreamed a Dream in Les Miserables gets me everytime...Fantine is such a tragic character. *cries into hanky*
I thought the concept of the opening number was fine, but I just finished watching the movie a few hours ago and remember "City of Stars" and the one Emma Stone sings in her audition. The music was super duper forgettable, whereas the editing in the finale of the movie is very, very strong.
Arrival is an excellent example of a good premise with a so-so execution, mostly owing to the philosophically and psychologically questionable (if not outright absurd) twist toward the end, though the choice to have Amy Adams' storyline revolve around a dead child is not necessarily less cliche because there is a slight inversion in how it's incorporated, either.
Arrival is an excellent example of a good premise with a so-so execution, mostly owing to the philosophically and psychologically questionable (if not outright absurd) twist toward the end, though the choice to have Amy Adams' storyline revolve around a dead child is not necessarily less cliche because there is a slight inversion in how it's incorporated, either.
I disagree. You said "twist toward the end", this is not wholly accurate and downplayed Arrival's grestness. Arrival had a logical build up that was cleverly deceptive. The movie played the audience's expectation of chronological order very well with a structure that mirrored its plot and our viewing experience, it had much more than just "so-so" execution.
AVP: Alien vs. Predator: Total schlock but Paul WS Anderson has fun with it and makes sure you do too. It gets increasingly more ridiculous as it goes on, from slow-no filled WWE alien smack downs to a straight up interspecies buddy team-up full of wistful looks. The biggest drawback besides being dumb as all hell is that the editing sucks, it's not shot super well (despite some pretty fun shot transitions), and poor CGI. The practical stuff, of which there is an abundance of, is pretty solid though. I got a big kick out of the Indiana Jones moving temple stuff too, and it fit right in with the other fast-paced action adventure nonsense this throws at you.
I also legit lol'd once I realized how close Prometheus is to this movie in a lot of respects. I can just imagine Ridley Scott angrily watching this film with a glass of wine clutched feverishly in his hand, muttering to himself about how much better he could do this premise. I think Anderson got the last laugh.
