Omar
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Post by Omar on Nov 7, 2007 19:55:35 GMT
A lot of people I know classify that as a "chick-flick", but I remember when it was released, every single guy I knew who saw it loved it. Are certain films made for the opposite sex, or should every film be reachable beyond the realms of gender? I've never seen it. Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus(2006/Steven Shainberg) [First Viewing] A (highly) fictionalized account of the beginnings of photographer Diane Arbus' career.On the one hand, I want to respect this film for not going the traditional route of a Hollywood biopic, but then again, I almost hate it because it doesn't seem to go anywhere. The first half has the trappings of a horror film, and the rest I didn't really care about at all. I would have LOVED to see Lynch work with this one. It seems right up his alley. Novecento(1976/Bernardo Bertolucci) [First Viewing] Two Italian men, born on the same day, travel different paths through the political turmoils of Italy in the first half of the 20th Century.As far as epics go, this belongs on the list with the very best. This is Bertolucci's most ambitious film, with the director fully pushing his usual themes to a near excessive amount, exploring Socialist vs. Fascist politics, bourgeoisie lifestyle, sexuality, violence, livestock feces, etc. There are flaws throughout, which can not be avoided in a 5 hour + film, but the whole thing is so beautiful, combining the brilliance of Bertolucci's camera, Ennio Morricone's score, and Vittorio Storaro's cinematography, that it's easy to ignore the problems. And Donald Sutherland makes a great villain!
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Post by svsg on Nov 7, 2007 20:45:04 GMT
What's wrong with me lately? I'm either extremely in tune with my emotions and content with myself and my place in the world, or I've become an emotional trainwreck: I've just watched The Notebook for the first time, and, had I not been as hungover as I am from last night, I would have been in absolute tears. It's a shamelessly by-the-book film, full of retrospective voice-over, love-at-first-sight outrageousness and a romanticism which would make the more hardened of us puke. But I bought into all that, and really rather enjoyed it. Yeah, go shoot me. Time to watch more sentimental movies. At the end of it all, come out with clarity
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Jenson71
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Post by Jenson71 on Nov 7, 2007 20:56:30 GMT
What's wrong with me lately? I'm either extremely in tune with my emotions and content with myself and my place in the world, or I've become an emotional trainwreck: I've just watched The Notebook for the first time, and, had I not been as hungover as I am from last night, I would have been in absolute tears. It's a shamelessly by-the-book film, full of retrospective voice-over, love-at-first-sight outrageousness and a romanticism which would make the more hardened of us puke. But I bought into all that, and really rather enjoyed it. Yeah, go shoot me. It's alright there big guy. "Stepmom" made me tear up.
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Post by svsg on Nov 9, 2007 23:39:03 GMT
Aparajito **** The second movie in the Apu trilogy by Satyajit Ray. The movie starts off where Pather Panchali ends. This one is more bleak and tragic. The character that is most beautifully developed is that of the mother/wife. Amazing BW cinematography again. Highly recommended.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Nov 11, 2007 4:29:02 GMT
Watched Le mépris tonight for the third time. Fuck me, what an amazing film.
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Post by Michael on Nov 11, 2007 4:31:09 GMT
I agree!
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Nov 11, 2007 17:00:50 GMT
Gone Baby Gone(2007/Ben Affleck) [First Viewing] A husband and wife private investigator team are hired to find a missing girl in the slums of Boston.Affleck no doubt has a wonderful sense of setting, skillfully putting in locals for many of the supporting roles and background characters. This aspect gives the film a grittiness that most films of this genre lack. The story is ridiculous (Affleck sticks close to the source material), but the performances are good. The Sheltering Sky(1990/Bernardo Bertolucci) [First Viewing] A husband and wife travel with their friend through Northern Africa shortly after World War Two.Bertolucci's dreamlike film wonderfully captures the allure and mystery of Norther Africa, with so many unforgettable images throughout. Bertolucci's camera sets the mood perfectly, with a story that sort of weaves through segments of a road trip, following these characters as they descend into the madness of their surroundings.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Nov 13, 2007 4:26:52 GMT
Little Buddha(1993/Bernardo Bertolucci) [First Viewing] An American child is believed to be the reincarnation of a Tibetan Monk.Bertolucci's got an interesting visual style going on here, with the American scenes filmed in a cold distant way, inter-cutting between sequences of the story of Buddha, told through interesting strands of color. In spite of this strong aspect, it doesn't really work. The story(s) are weak, especially the Buddha flashbacks, with Keanu Reeves playing the god! His casting is, like with every film he appears in, a huge flaw, and takes away much of the credibility of this film.
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Post by Mike Sullivan on Nov 13, 2007 19:10:56 GMT
American Gangster (2006): * * * *
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Nov 14, 2007 19:18:06 GMT
Wetdog's writing again, and for the love of God I love it.
Jesus.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Nov 15, 2007 19:27:30 GMT
Stealing Beauty(1996/Bernardo Bertolucci) [First Viewing] A young woman travels to Italy for a summer with a hidden agenda.Bertolucci, remixed for the 90's MTV generation. And there's even a hip soundtrack! Jeremy Irons adds a touch of class as a dying writer, and Liv Tyler is beautiful. Otherwise, had any other director helmed this, no one would have given it a second thought. I'm not even sure they did in the first place.
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Post by svsg on Nov 18, 2007 0:38:05 GMT
No Kino, don't know why I didn't download it yet. Next week perhaps. I am very impressed with Ray!! Later this week, I will be watching some of your recommendations - Resnais and Karwai
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Post by svsg on Nov 18, 2007 3:43:24 GMT
Which ones are you starting with? (I hate to be a stickler, but Wong is Wong Kar-wai's last name.) :) I have only 3 movies downloaded. Rest are in my blockbuster queue. So they will take forever to climb to the top. Last year in Marienbad Ashes of time In the mood for love
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Post by svsg on Nov 19, 2007 1:18:45 GMT
Thanks Kino. Good news is that "in the mood for love" is available in blockbuster and is also on my queue. I don't know why I downloaded. I thought I had downloaded only those I couldn't find in blockbuster. I am thinking of pushing it to the top.
With the first two, is your 'frustrated' comment for the video quality or the content of the movie itself? I started seeing Marienbad till almost half and loved it, but I was way too sleepy to finish it. So I am planning to watch it from the start. I had a feeling right from the beginning that the movie should have been made in color.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Nov 19, 2007 4:49:08 GMT
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead(2007/Sidney Lumet) [First Viewing] Two down on their luck brothers plan to rob their parent's store.Kelly Masterson's nonlinear script wisely weaves together different perspectives of before, during, and after the robbery, which is shown first, with Lumet letting the tension build like a train finishing with the subtle intensity of the final half. The film incorporates a taut heist drama with dysfunctional family themes wrapped around a love triangle. The performances are as gripping as the presentation. No Country for Old Men(2007/Ethan Coen, Joel Coen) [First Viewing] A Texan stumbles across a bag full of money while hunting, and soon his life is turned upside down.The Coen's have out done themselves. They do with the barren desert-like landscapes of west Texas what they did with the snow covered lands of Minnesota in "Fargo". They stick close with the source material, but are able to weave it perfectly into celluloid, creating a tense atmosphere of limited dialogue and no musical score. The performances are excellent, with Tommy Lee Jones, who usually plays himself in every film, completely disappearing into the role of an aging sheriff in a changing time. The final thirty minutes are so typical of the Coen brothers, playing with the audiences preconceived notions and ending the film rather poetically and subtly.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Nov 21, 2007 17:30:52 GMT
Since The Notebook, I've re-watched Stand By Me, The Brown Bunny, Le mépris, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Borom Sarret*. First-time viewings are: The Passion of Anna, Pravda, American Psycho, Wind from the East, Ripley's Game, Moment of Glory (short)*, Cold Prey*, Jersey Girl, Ratatouille, Bicycle Thieves* and American Gangster. * = big screen Ask if you wish to know more.
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Post by svsg on Nov 22, 2007 0:05:45 GMT
What are your thoughts on Ratatoullie?
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Post by svsg on Nov 22, 2007 0:16:48 GMT
Last year in Marienbad *** This is not one of those movies that explain everything at the end. Kino was right about the frustration part. I enjoyed it all throughout, including the frustration of not having understood. The theme is of memory and reality. It probably is better left not deconstructed. It is visually fantastic and the music is haunting. I would have liked to see it in color.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Nov 22, 2007 13:19:08 GMT
The excessive use of mirrors in Marienbad is lovely. Each scene just mirrors another; it's like a perpetual mirror maze. Meaning just leads to other meaning, memories to other memories, snippets of dialogue to other snippets of dialogue. I've only seen it once, but I feel as if once I see it again it'll enter my top ten.
As for Ratatouille, I thought it was sumptuously fun. The rich visual texture is a vast improvement on the relatively flat Cars, and Bird shows animals will always lend themselves more to anthropomorphism than automobiles; facial expression suffered somewhat in Cars. It's a step forward, too, I think, from Bird's own previous Pixar outing, The Incredibles. I love that film, but Rataouille's visual rendering of Paris is dense, convincing and beautiful to look at. The Incredibles was gorgeous, too, of course, but super-heroes in spandex have always been easily adapted to animation anyway. The humour's very clever, and camera movement in a kitchen has never been as smooth or as exhilarating since GoodFellas.
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Post by svsg on Nov 22, 2007 16:41:32 GMT
but I feel as if once I see it again it'll enter my top ten. I am interested to see that list. Not your one-per-director list. In fact i am interested to see the list of everyone here, as it stands today. I am sure there is a thread already.
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