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Post by Mike Sullivan on Feb 12, 2006 5:13:15 GMT
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Feb 12, 2006 18:50:59 GMT
Million Dollar Baby(2004/Clint Eastwood) [Second Viewing] An over-the-hill boxing trainer takes a determined young woman under his wing.This is a good film with several important features hindering it from being great. The acting from most of the cast is either overdone or remain caricatures, except for Eastwood. The director happens to turn in his best performance, full of rawness and mystery, and it ends up being the only thing that really drives the film. The direction is good, with Eastwood playing with light and shadows that ends up working well with the film. The screenplay by Paul Haggis goes from cliche to endearing at the drop of a punch (sorry for the pun).
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Feb 13, 2006 0:54:03 GMT
My first weekend of the year without one film. Ouch.
Watch the comeback, though...
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Feb 13, 2006 1:05:46 GMT
My first weekend of the year without one film. Ouch. Watch the comeback, though... And this was the first weekend for me in a very long time where I watched more than five films. Hopefully this will repeat.
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Post by Vercetti on Feb 13, 2006 1:42:06 GMT
First Blood - (Ted Kotcheff;1982;USA) After a Green Beret drifter is assaulted by small-town cops, he retreats into the forrest.While being an action film that spawned two shit cliche sequels, this one proved to be a pretty good film. There are great moments and cliche moments but overall the final product is good, and is probably the only good Stallone action movie. The original ending would've been better though.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Feb 13, 2006 2:55:23 GMT
As ordered, sirs; Solaris Steven Soderbergh 2002, USA[/color] 1st viewing; download- I was very surprised here. I think Soderbergh nailed the philosophical implications of the events on Solaris more accurately than Tarkovsky, who pretty much skipped over the problem of Orwellian revisionism to focus on the emotional effects of remembrance. Of course, that resulted in some unparelleled moments of cinematic genius (the painting), but, and I say this having not read the book, I doubt that's the central theme as written. I liked how the memories of Earth are shot hand-held and the reality of Solaris dominantly static. It actually reminded me of a Wong Kar Wai film. The final scene in the apartment is deeply, deeply profound, and, (ironically) if memory serves, it's shot statically.[/size] Mean Streets Martin Scorsese 1973, USA[/color] 1st viewing; DVD- Surprisingly less story-bound than I'd expected from Scorsese. The only real narrative pulse is delivered in the form of creditors chronicling Johnny's escalating debts through Charlie, which is an interesting structure, and the rest of the film is given to a character portrait, the camera lashed to Keitel - it seems the city didn't exist as an entity until Taxi Driver. Several stylistic flourishes are exhilerating, especially the sudden engulfing silence as the car hits the hydrant.[/size] Gin gwai The Eye / Seeing Ghosts Oxide Pang / Danny Pang 2002, Hong Kong / UK / Singapore[/color] 1st viewing; DVD- A completely wasted premise. A blind woman receives a corneal transplant and experiences sight for the first time, but from the eyes of her preternaturally gifted donor. That this is framed like a by-the-numbers ghost story shouldn't really matter, since it's all about different types of sight, and that's an obviously cinematic notion. There's one moment of such excellence that it feels like someone else's idea that the flimmakers thought sounded cool but didn't quite get - She's standing in front of two elevators, she calls the one on the left, glances at the CCTV monitor and sees that it's empty, but as the doors open and she goes to enter she sees a ghost standing stock-still facing the corner. Jumping back, she looks again at the monitor and it again shows no occupant. A young couple push past her and enter the elevator, showing up normally on the CCTV. This is sophisticated stuff, referencing our perspective as viewers and the nature of the camera that affords us our view, then the screen within the screen which calls attention to the fact that the camera eye is constantly shifting between objective and subjective states of perception (sometimes it's her and sometimes it's us), illustrated thereafter when she calls the adjacent elevator. She peers in cautiously, in first-person, then enters. When the camera moves back to third-person we see the same ghost in the corner. She couldn't see it because her subjective sight had fused with a camera that was at that moment seeing from our eyes, like when we saw subjectively from her eyes through the CCTV that was seeing objectively from ours. Really clever. No other scene is this provocative, and I can't say the whole thing's worth sitting through for this (definitely worth a quick chapter selection, though: #8 'The Elevator'). It's being remade, and it needs to be, but this is unlikely to be the impetus behind it.[/size] A Cock and Bull Story Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story Michael Winterbottom 2005, UK[/color] 1st viewing; big screen- A perfect introduction to intertextuality and self-reflexive layering, because it's not heavy and it's very accessible. I'd perhaps have liked a little less of the irreverent salf-parody and showbiz satire and a few more 'steps backward' through layers of reality. I think they take three: from the book to their film to our film. And then there's various outward references to other texts, filmmakers and performers, and Steve Coogan becomes his own son in his girlfriend's womb as he plays both Tristram Shandy and his father, and then every layer and multiple persona and narrative tense is shuffled playfully for the duration. Excellent.[/size] La notte The Night Michelangelo Antonioni 1960, Italy / France[/color] 1st viewing; download- I was on the fence with this one until the very end, when the cumulative effect of what went before hits pretty hard. It's a very intelligent, restrained and well photographed film, an innovative use of mundane architectural features, space manipulated simply via elegant and subtle framing and reframing. I can't say I related closely to the aloof upper-class ennui on display, but it's a credit to Antonioni that he can abstract his character's emotions into the tone and structure of the film and effectively convey it without direct connection. I look forward to seeing more.[/size]
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Post by Vercetti on Feb 13, 2006 17:26:17 GMT
Week End - (Jean-Luc Godard;1967;Italy/France) A middle class married couple driving to Oinville for a will encounter a huge traffic jam, dead road rage victims, and many eccentrics, including cannibalistic hippies.My first Godard film and a very fascinating one at that. The film gradually strips down society through violence, political speeches, and ultimately degradation to the point of cannibalism. This is a great film, although there are moments where it drags. It does manage to blend violence from an angry director with some nice humor in some moments. The French countryside also provides some wonderful cinematography. Ultimately this is a disturbing jab at society that is still relevant today.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Feb 13, 2006 23:54:05 GMT
Glad you liked "Mystery Train" Mick. When I first saw it, I was somewhat disappointed, but now it seems that it's the Jarmusch film I keep coming back to. Before I really got into cinema, I used to love "Finding Forrester". I watched it recently on TV, and observed how average it really is. Though I must admit, the closing music always manages to move me. And did you recognize Michael Pitt from "Last Days"? Kagemusha The Shadow Warrior(1980/Akira Kurosawa) [First Viewing] After the death of a samurai lord in ancient Japan, a destitute thief is hired to impersonate him.In the hands of almost any other director, the main idea of the story would be handled like a comedy. But thanks to Kurosawa's dark artistic vision, the film becomes an epic masterpiece of spectacle and story, with one beautiful image after another. It seems that with every Kurosawa film I see, it becomes my favorite of his films. "Kagemusha" is no exception, and I can't wait to rewatch it.
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Post by Vercetti on Feb 14, 2006 2:03:49 GMT
Le Cercle Rouge - (Jean-Pierre Melville;1970;France/Italy) One man escapes going to prison the same day a man is released, they team up with an alcoholic ex-cop to pull off a jewelry heist.Like Le Samourai, this is an excellent Neo-Noir crime film that is very taut. The cast is great, especially Delon. It's meticulous direction injects that cool feeling to the characters that also made Le Samourai the film it is. It's films like these we need today crime-wise. The heist scene is among the great scenes in cinema.
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Post by Vercetti on Feb 14, 2006 4:48:41 GMT
Holy shit, using eMule I can download Un Flic in an hour and a half. It that's all it takes then I really must shit myself in awe. It took be a week to download Week End, downloading overnight only.
Wet Dog, when looking at the search window, what does the "complete" column mean? Un Flic is listed as 61%.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Feb 14, 2006 9:27:27 GMT
Complete Sources indicates what percentage of the users who have the file have the complete file[/i]. If the number in the Availability column is 100 and the Complete Sources are 0%, then your file will stop short of completion, with nowhere to download from. Ideally that reads 100%.
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Post by Vercetti on Feb 14, 2006 10:18:42 GMT
Damn, it stopped and went to "Waiting" last night, but there are several uploads from it even though it's incomplete.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Feb 14, 2006 14:20:49 GMT
Before I really got into cinema, I used to love "Finding Forrester". I watched it recently on TV, and observed how average it really is. Though I must admit, the closing music always manages to move me. And did you recognize Michael Pitt from "Last Days"? Yeah; Pitt looks like a tart in everything except Last Days. I think Forrester is worth watching to see a brilliant director whose best work is his arthouse, freer stuff working in a system as an experiment, not necessarily to make experimental films. He does it much better in Good Will Hunting, though, which is why I don't know whether to give a star or none. For now, the star stays. I have, by the way, now broken the four-figure mark in my film database.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Feb 14, 2006 14:24:19 GMT
Krótki film o milosci A Short Film About Love Krzysztof Kíeslowski 1988 Poland 3rd time; DVD A young man spies on an older woman in the opposite block of flats, and becomes infatuated with her. Beguiling study of loneliness more than anything, and the obsession which individuals place on the idea of being wanted. The love of the title is shown as an ultimately destructive force, but there is a clear, defined relationship throughout: that between director and his medium, with Kíeslowski playing mesmerising games with perspective and gaze.House of Games David Mamet 1987 US 1st time; DVD A writer and psychiatrist becomes obsessed with a confidence trickster, and becomes involved in a series of elaborate cons. Obvious questions arise throughout: who's playing whom and all that. It's a highly unsettling film in which you never really feel comfortable in any of the scenes; Mamet concentrates on storytelling, the kind which, thanks to the subject matter, allows him to get away with Chinese box affairs and slight cop-outs. The acting is either atrociously robotic or effectively artificial, depending on taste.Small Time Crooks Woody Allen 2000 US 1st time; VHS A bumbling thief hitches a plan to rob a bank by setting up a cookie store and tunelling through; the plan fails, but the cookies take off. Amid all the broad humour, which regrettably spells things out to us more often than necessary, there is are subtle jabs at the idea of hgih culture and art appreciation; moralistic and convincing.
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Post by Vercetti on Feb 14, 2006 19:15:16 GMT
Before I really got into cinema, I used to love "Finding Forrester". I watched it recently on TV, and observed how average it really is. Though I must admit, the closing music always manages to move me. And did you recognize Michael Pitt from "Last Days"? Yeah; Pitt looks like a tart in everything except Last Days. Meaning womanly? I remember when I first saw his pic over a year ago after reading about it, when it was supposedly an actual biopic. I laughed at the thought of him playing Cobain, though the Cobainesque character worked out for him.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Feb 14, 2006 21:00:22 GMT
I thought Pitt was excellent in Bertolucci's "The Dreamers".
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Feb 14, 2006 21:56:22 GMT
Little Dieter Needs to Fly Werner Herzog 1997, France / UK / Germany[/color] 1st viewing; DVD- Thoroughly compelling, but disappointingly 'talking head'-ish, documentary about Dieter Dengler's escape from a Viet Cong POW camp. Yes, it amounts mainly to Dengler talking to the camera, telling us his story, but he's such an honest and articulate personality that he commands full attention. Herzog spices things up considerabely with his trademark splicing of fact and fiction, science and art - placing Dengler in uncomfortable, poorly staged 'reenactments' of the events he describes as he descibes them, and subtlely suggesting death's presence in animal form several times.[/size] Höstsonaten Autumn Sonata Ingmar Bergman 1978, France / West Germany / Sweden[/color] 1st viewing; download- Extraordinarily fine performances, but little else. An estranged mother and daughter are reunited, exorcising their demons. Very stage-bound, it's difficult to see this as more than an inferior version of Cries and Whispers. There is, however, one moment of pure cinematic magic, and it's a nightmare. Nobody, not even Lynch, understands the texture of nightmares like Bergman. This is nothing but the briefest glimpse of some fingers and hair, just a touch and some movement, and it's terrifying.[/size]
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Feb 14, 2006 22:07:26 GMT
My God, a Proview at last. Backdated, but who's complaining. Well done.
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