Capo
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Post by Capo on Nov 22, 2007 17:00:05 GMT
I currently don't have one. But will soon...
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Post by svsg on Nov 22, 2007 22:53:01 GMT
Dog Day Afternoon *** This was made when Al pacino was still subtle and restrained in acting. Good acting from him and John Cazale. The movie is paced well and never goes over the top in terms of drama that is usually seen in many hostage movies.
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Post by Michael on Nov 23, 2007 18:14:52 GMT
Don't Look Back
Absolute awesomeness.
I loved how it ended with one of Dylan's best and most satisfying shows on the tour, only to find out afterwards in the limo that someone in the press accused him of being an anarchist.
"I need a cigarette, get the anarchist a cigarette!"
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Nov 23, 2007 18:37:23 GMT
I'm torn: I can't stop thinking about Eastern Promises; but it's quite a silly film, really.
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Post by svsg on Nov 23, 2007 21:08:55 GMT
Apur Sansar (The world of Apu) **** Thanks to Kino for motivating me into watching more of Ray. I, being an Indian, have watched very few movies from GOOD Indian directors. After watching four 4-star movies from him, I am convinced he is among my top favorites. This is the third of the Apu trilogy, very conspicuous for its male actors occupying the center stage unlike the other two. The only happy phase in the main character Apu's life comes in the presence of his wife, during his short-lived marriage. Though the movie ends in a way to signify continuity of life amidst misery, this movie is on the whole a bleak portrayal of the viciousness of urban poverty.
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Post by svsg on Nov 24, 2007 1:35:20 GMT
SVSG, I didn't know you are Indian. Have you seen Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, and Guru Dutt movies? Ghatak's Cloud-Capped Star is one of those films I'm dying to see. It's supposed to be great. Maybe you can find a download. I believe it's out on Region 2 by the BFI. Only seen 2 Ghatak's (pretty difficult works) and his rep for dense sound design and polticial filmmaking holds true. Dutt's movies are available on DVD. Pyaasa is aweseome. Pale Flowers is great stuff. Mrinal Sen's Genesis is great, too. Perhaps has the most visual skilled out of these directors, but that's just going off of only one Sen I've seen. Mani Kaul has interested me for a long time. Hope to see his stuff some day. Our Daily Bread sounds like my kind of movie. I presumed from your reply in this thread that you knew all along that I was Indian. That festival had a separate section for Indian and "World" Cinema I haven't watched any of the works from those directors, but I plan to fix that problem soon You would find very few Indians who would have watched any Ray, Dutt (maybe) or Sen movies. The popular movie industries are in three languages, Hindi (Bollywood), Tamil and Telugu. All of them are supreme crap nowadays. The other language movies are relatively small budget. For example, movies in Bengali (Ray, Sen) and Malayalam languages. Guru Dutt made movies before Bollywood turned into total crap in 60s and whoever was born in last 3-4 decades would, in all likelihood, have just heard of him and not watched any of his movies. I am making an active attempt to watch more acclaimed Indian movies. My current blockbuster queue, posted here , has some of the movies that I found on DVD. I will download the rest as I did for Apu trilogy.
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Post by svsg on Nov 24, 2007 17:46:24 GMT
3:10 to Yuma *I think it fits well into the western genre with its themes of bravery, drawing guns fast, legendary tales of a bad guy killing N number of men and families etc. Acting wise, nothing remarkable, even from the usually great Bale. Maybe this was a great movie and I am just not a big fan of westerns. I think the ending is as Hollywood* as it gets. * =derogatory
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Post by svsg on Nov 24, 2007 19:45:49 GMT
Is there something I missed reading in that thread that was a dead giveaway? Very likely. :) Don't know, somehow I presumed I had talked about my trip to India last december, when this film festival was being held in my city (Bangalore). Probably I posted on Gangsterbb and not here!! Anyway, check out the photo thread in off-topic, where I will be posting my photo taken last december during my India trip. :)
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Nov 24, 2007 20:51:09 GMT
3:10 to Yuma *I think it fits well into the western genre with its themes of bravery, drawing guns fast, legendary tales of a bad guy killing N number of men and families etc. Acting wise, nothing remarkable, even from the usually great Bale. Maybe this was a great movie and I am just not a big fan of westerns. I think the ending is as Hollywood* as it gets. * =derogatory I think the ending is what made me like it so much. MICK: Thoughts on "American Psycho" and "American Gangster"?
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Nov 24, 2007 21:40:39 GMT
Fargo(1996/Joel Coen, Ethan Coen) [Second Viewing] A car salesman hires two men to kidnap his wife, but everything goes wrong.I am not sure I have ever seen a film balance violence and comedy so well, with the brothers balancing both extremes perfectly. A unique film, with Roger Deakin's excellent cinematography showcasing the vast emptiness of a snow covered land, setting something that is beyond mood. The performances are so wonderful that you truly believe these people are who they are. The Coens have an amazing ability at observing small obscure cultures combined with representations of random years, and with "Fargo", they both gel.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Nov 25, 2007 1:14:52 GMT
^^ I agree.
American Psycho is great; I was laughing out loud at many bits, from pretty early on (as early as the opening credits, actually, when Bateman says to himself that he will kill the barmaid as she gets his drink) till the spiral into ridiculousness at the end (which I took to be a critique of Hollywood narrative and the audiences which consume them). It's a very clever, visually pristine film, though I understand it's not as extreme as the novel, nor is it as ambiguous - I watched it with a girl who'd seen it twice before, and only when I mentioned it did she realise that the murders potentially didn't happen. That's a point to be argued amongst those who've seen it, of course, but to me there was no question they were imaginary. I think on the one hand they didn't - there are many signs indicating so; but on the other hand, the fact that they do take place makes the critique of yuppy culture all the more impacting and impressive. Bale is marvellous.
As for American Gangster, same old same old. It's one of those films too solidly made, too well-performed, to dismiss as garbage; it's passively entertaining for as long as it lasts, thanks to good acting and Scott's usual feel for pacing, but a few days after I'd seen it I had little desire even to think of it ever again. It's the usual cops and robbers film, an amalgamation of The French Connection and Heat with the narrative arc of Blow and sniffles of Serpico in there too; Washington brings his usual charm and Crowe's very good, but even if we're routing for both of them, their final union seems rushed and undeserved - the character of corrupt cop Trupo isn't developed enough to make his presence worthwhile, though he's probably essential (without him, we'd simply route for Crowe). Scott's a craftsman and little more (though he's better than his brother, and can, when he gets his hands on the right material, make brilliant films); the kind with whom it's impossible to decide whether he's past his best or yet to flourish.
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Post by svsg on Nov 25, 2007 7:51:33 GMT
No country for old men *** Blibble is right about the ending in a way. It is an unexpected one, but not necessarily a very satisfying one either. Leaving that aside, the cinematography is great and the story is gripping till the end. There are some small similarities to Fargo in terms of plot elements.
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Post by svsg on Nov 25, 2007 19:23:32 GMT
No country for old men ***Blibble is right about the ending in a way. It is an unexpected one, but not necessarily a very satisfying one either. I disagree. It's very fitting and very satisfying because Bell is the main character and the movie is about him even though for the majority of the movie we're watching Llewelyn and Chigurh. If the movie is about him (which I agree with), why spend so much time on other characters (whose motives are unclear to me). And how did the actions of the other characters influence the main character - we get to see the end result in the last 10 min - why not show the process? I think the technical finesse is somehow overshadowing a no-so-great script (plot/screen time management). I am fine with the movie thematically.
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Post by svsg on Nov 25, 2007 21:56:55 GMT
One could say, well, Bell didn't witness the murders, but the access to Chigurh is for the audience's benefit. This point is important as we audience get to see so much of the details of the cruelty without of course any access to motives. The cop doesn't even have any idea of these. He knows that the psycho guy is beyond his reach, almost like a ghost. If he is like a ghost, why do we need to know the mechanisms of the cruelty. Even if we assume that we need to be aware of the contrast between the characters, why spend much time with llewyln guy? Seriously what is that guy up to? I have no clue what he is doing? Why did he have to go back to the desert? Why does he keep taking so much risk? And this psycho guy? Is he just a sadistic killer (bird on the road, or llewylyn's wife for example)? Is money his driving force? I was sitting there trying to understand the two characters, when it ends with the realization from the cop that the new times are beyond his reach and has to quit. He was almost a passive character all the while and suddenly I have to care about his realization?
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Nov 25, 2007 22:10:33 GMT
It's an immense act of will for me to not read any of these No Country debates. Roll on January 18th.
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Post by svsg on Nov 25, 2007 22:25:58 GMT
It's an immense act of will for me to not read any of these No Country debates. Roll on January 18th. I am going to insert major spoilers of No Country in other threads which you might read unsuspectingly
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Post by svsg on Nov 26, 2007 2:49:57 GMT
Ashes of Time **** Karwai Wong creates a beautiful image with themes of love, guilt and regret by letting his characters reflect on their memories through time. Each event leads to a memory of another coupled with the realization that essentially the past has its impact over all events, in present and in future. Whether one can decouple the memory is a key theme of the movie. Beautiful music, colors and prominent use of persistence-of-vision sword fights. I need to watch this movie again to absorb all the themes explored by the director. Highly recommended.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Nov 26, 2007 4:36:46 GMT
I'm Not There(2007/Todd Haynes) [First Viewing] ? I can't collect my thoughts on this at all. It's like watching a dream. Even now my memory of it is fuzzy. I'm going to try and see it again before the week is over. All I know is that I've been listening to Dylan non-stop since leaving the theater.
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Post by svsg on Nov 26, 2007 6:37:21 GMT
Different strokes for different folks. Some people were moved; some like you were not. Kino, thanks for answering my questions, some of which were rhetorical I am sure I might like the movie better if I watch it the second time, with all these new points, but I am still baffled that you think it is the best movie since 2000!! Elephant? Requiem for a dream? I am sure there are dozens of other remarkable films from this decade. But again I understand that this is a very subjective thing. So don't get me wrong, I am just baffled, not really questioning your choice
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Nov 27, 2007 1:32:19 GMT
Some important dates at my local arthouse for me to look forward to during my Christmas break: Friday 21st December - I'm Not ThereFriday 28th December - Silent LightSaturday 5th January - Syndromes and a CenturyFriday 11th January - Paranoid ParkFriday 11th January - Youth Without YouthI'm also seeing The Darjeeling Limited and The Assassination of Jesses James by the Coward Robert Ford this week.
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