Omar
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Post by Omar on Oct 29, 2007 16:52:50 GMT
Bottle Rocket(1996/Wes Anderson) [Nth Viewing] Three twenty-somethings attempt to break into a life of crime.Eccentric as can be (Future Man and Applejack?), Anderson begins his film career on somewhat shaky ground. If it's not fair to compare this with his later work, but it's obvious here that Anderson has yet to fully embrace his style (it wouldn't take long). Still, this is a very funny film, with James Caan turning in a completely random performance, a source that the film thrives on. Rushmore(1998/Wes Anderson) [Nth Viewing] A high schooler gets expelled from his beloved private school.With "Rushmore", Anderson has fully discovered his potential and ability. His work with the soundtrack is flawless, with every song feeling right in it's place. His attention to detail is in fine tune, with each character bringing with them a certain flavor whenever on screen. On top of all this, the film is very funny, and is probably Anderson's most plot driven film, but he makes great use of this, bringing more depth to his characters than in any of his other films. This has also got to be Bill Murray's best performance, perfectly understanding his character while at the same time adding so much with his improvisation. The Royal Tenenbaums(2001/Wes Anderson) [Nth Viewing] A man attempts to reconcile with his eccentric family of prodigies after going broke.Presented as a novel, with many of the characters throughout reading novels written by the other characters, you know right away that Anderson is in full control. He crafts this film, balanced by a distinctive soundtrack and elegant narration by Alec Baldwin, presenting everything in a nice package. Anderson has created a whole other world in which his characters live and breath.
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Post by Michael on Oct 30, 2007 21:03:45 GMT
The Simpsons movie.
Better than I expected. Why'd you give it zero stars wetdog?
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Post by svsg on Nov 1, 2007 8:18:39 GMT
La Dolce Vita *** My third Fellini film and as impressive as the other two (8 1/2 and La Strada). Excellent case study of a man slowly getting deeper and deeper into a shallow life style. At the same time, it is a humorous, cynical and tragic commentary of the society as a whole. Great BW cinematography.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Nov 1, 2007 12:34:55 GMT
hedonism = shallow?
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Post by svsg on Nov 1, 2007 18:12:30 GMT
Not really. Provided one does not have any deep ambition other than pleasure. Marcello had internal ambitions of doing non-sensational journalism and being faithful to his lover. The life he lead was so sweet that he could not resist it. A hedonist does not have this guilt.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Nov 1, 2007 22:02:51 GMT
A paltry tally for me this month. Time was when I'd see 40+ features. OCTOBER 9 films. 8 first viewings. 7 on the big screen. The Brave One Neil Jordan 2007, USA / Australia[/color] 1st viewing; cinema[/size] Across the Universe Julie Taymor 2007, USA[/color] 1st viewing; cinema[/size] Lifted Gary Rydstrom 2006, USA[/color] 1st viewing; cinema[/size] Ratatouille Brad Bird & Jan Pinkava 2007, USA[/color] 1st viewing; cinema[/size] The Nightmare Before Christmas Henry Selick 1993, USA[/color] 2nd viewing; cinema (3D)[/size] Notes on a Scandal Richard Eyre 2006, UK[/color] 1st viewing; DVD[/size] Merci pour le chocolat Nightcap Claude Chabrol 2000, France / Switzerland[/color] 1st viewing; DVD[/size] FILM OF THE MONTHSud pralad Tropical Malady Apichatpong Weerasethakul 2004, Thailand / France / Germany / Italy[/color] 1st viewing; cinema[/size] Eastern Promises David Cronenberg 2007, UK / Canada / USA[/color] 1st viewing; cinema[/size]
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Nov 2, 2007 3:16:07 GMT
I only saw eight films last month, but that's genuinely because I've been reading a lot more literature, as part of my degree. I don't know what Wetdog's excuse is, though. Film of the month was either Hour of the Wolf or Grace is Gone; last night I saw Motel Hell, and it was quite lamentable.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Nov 2, 2007 5:29:01 GMT
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou(2004/Wes Anderson) [Nth Viewing] A washed up oceanographer goes on a voyage after a shark that ate his colleague.Anderson's eloquence is at an all time high with this film, making it his version of a big action movie, showcasing his prominent (and at this point commanding) trademarks and framing device. The film is rich in details, beautiful locations and cinematography, as well as having a magnificent score and a top notch cast. The use of Seu Jorge's interpretations of Bowie's early work is a great feature.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Nov 2, 2007 16:43:56 GMT
I had a feeling that you'd love Tropical Malady. Has Syndromes and a Century shown there? It's stunning. The final ten minutes or so are hypnotic. It was free, too, for some reason. The guy just beckoned us all in and said something about it being Halloween. I thought this screening of Tropical Malady would be in anticipation of Syndromes and a Century's release, but it's not on the schedule for this month. Masterfully directed from a pretty good script, basically. As in A History of Violence and M. Butterfly, Cronenberg teases out the story's most interesting themes and foregrounds them, but once more his exploration of them seems somewhat hamstringed by his obligations to the other elements of the narrative. This actually might be his most deeply moral film, the violence is horrific. Mortensen's performance is impeccable, and that bathhouse brawl is one of the best things Cronenberg has ever put to film. Suschitzky's cinematography is gorgeous, and Shore's score is subtle and effective. It's excellent all around, everyone's on their A-game, and my only complaint really is that it's maybe cut too tight, it could do with ten extra minutes of breathing room. But I would've sat right down and watched it again the second it ended - it's that engaging. Your thoughts?
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Nov 2, 2007 16:45:08 GMT
I only saw eight films last month, but that's genuinely because I've been reading a lot more literature, as part of my degree. I don't know what Wetdog's excuse is, though. I wish I had one!
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Post by svsg on Nov 3, 2007 4:57:35 GMT
Last King of Scotland **Forest Whitaker plays an amazing role as Idi Amin. He brings out the eccentricities of a dictator very convincingly. The movie goes quite the hollywood way and there is nothing great to talk about. And why the hell is Idi Amin talking to villagers in English with an African accent. Use subtitles
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Nov 3, 2007 16:55:23 GMT
Control(2007/Anton Corbijin) [First Viewing] An account of Ian Curtis, lead singer of Joy Division who committed suicide at 23.Filmed in grainy black and white, the film perfectly captures the mood and feel necessary to understand the troubled genius of Ian Curtis. Extremely low key, the film is very still, almost lifeless. Sam Riley, with his big empty eyes, does an excellent job at depicting Curtis, while Samantha Morton does an excellent job as his teenage bride who expects to live an ordinary life with her husband. Corbijin does what every director of a 'biopic' should do; presenting the film as if seen through the eyes of it's subject. The final image, of black smoke going into a gray sky, is about as bleak as it gets. La commare secca(1962/Bernardo Bertolucci) [First Viewing] After a prostitute is found dead, several possible witnesses are interrogated.Partner(1968/Bernardo Bertolucci) [First Viewing] A university professor develops another personality.Here are two masterpieces made by Bertolucci, but both could not be anymore different from each other. The former, his first film, holds many similarities to Kurosawa's "Rashomon", yet it finds it's own narrative and, through it's non-linear time-line, is very engaging , especially considering Bertolucci was twenty-one when he made it. The latter is extremely different, shot in vibrate color and told almost in the form of Godard's "Weekend". Along with some of Godard's work, it ends up being a perfect depiction of Europe in the 1960's, and like most of Godard's work, it's about cinema more than anything else. And what powerful cinema! There's a reference to "Bronenosets Potyomkin", done in complete silence, with the characters wearing gas masks and running around with smoke bombs. Beautiful.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Nov 4, 2007 0:08:27 GMT
American Gangster(2007/Ridley Scott) [First Viewing] The opening scene of director Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster” is the perfect introduction to how the story of Frank Lucas, a notorious drug dealer in Harlem during the late 1960’s to the early 1970’s, is going to be presented to us. I would not even call it a scene because it goes by too fast, much like the depiction of the main character, played by Denzel Washington, and the film itself. “American Gangster” has a lot of good things going for it, especially on the entertainment level, but if it’s reaching for everlasting acclaim (and I think it is), than it just barely misses out. Right away we are presented with Frank Lucas, a caretaker to an aging criminal in Harlem, during the Thanksgiving of 1968. Working with his boss for fifteen years and observing local Italian mobsters, Lucas has developed a code of ethics involved with being a gangster. When his employer soon passes on, Lucas begins applying these ethics to the street. With the Vietnam War playing constantly in the background on televisions (a motif used throughout the film), Lucas uses a family connection in the military, and soon enough, is importing one hundred percent pure heroin straight from the jungles and into the ghettos of New York City. With an instant rise in wealth and power, Lucas begins employing his family members from North Carolina into his business, and even sets his mother up with a nice estate. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Richie Roberts (played by Russell Crowe), a straight-laced detective during a time of extreme corruption, is having a hard time getting by. Because of his honesty and his hatred of corruption, he has alienated himself from nearly everyone he works with. Not only that, but his wife is leaving him and wants full custody of their son. And if that weren’t enough, he is also going through law school but has an extreme fear of public speaking. Before too long, he is recruited to lead a team of investigators in bringing down drug operations and their ties with corruption. Their efforts are often foiled by a group of corrupt New York cops, but soon they discover Lucas and his operation, and begin their own operation of taking them down. That is the setup, and it’s a good one, but director Scott and screenwriter Steven Zaillian (he also wrote “Schindler’s List”) do not really know where the want to go with the story, or the portrayal of their lead character. There is no doubt that Washington is an extraordinary actor, as well as being a reliable one. In “American Gangster”, he is merely a reliable actor filling the role of a shallow one-dimensional character. There are a few snippets of dialogue thrown in toward the end that try to expand Lucas’s existence, but while on the screen, he rarely shows emotion and we never really know what makes him tick. Scott’s direction is good, making references during the final bust to gritty cop films from the 1970’s, such as “The French Connection” or “Serpico”, but missing out on all the class of the crime epics that it strives to be. There is great montage, however, of the drugs being smuggled from Southeast Asia, through American military bases, to New York City and its ghettos. Despite its ambitions, “American Gangster” misses out on being the highly acclaimed epic film it should have been (it’s still pretty long, though), and just ends up joining the list with films like “Blow” and “Lord of War” as being the yearly formula films that are extremely enjoyable, yet can not escape the realms of being just ‘good’. In spite of everything, there is a moment of greatness in the final image with Lucas, years later, standing on a street corner with Public Enemy playing in the background, observing the long term effects of the urban decadence that he was responsible for. It’s a great ending that makes you wonder where the great film was that should have come with it.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Nov 5, 2007 19:59:05 GMT
Il conformista(1970/Bernardo Bertolucci) [Second Viewing] A self-conscious man attempts to rise through the ranks of Fascism in 1930's Italy. Bertolucci's excellent adaptation perfectly weaves together two story-lines in a non-linear fashion, introducing to us an interesting character study in the trappings of a political thriller, both of which work tremendously well. From a technical standpoint, I would go so far as to say that this might be the best film I have ever seen. Every shot, every little detail, is recognized fully by Bertolucci and cinematography Vittorio Storaro. The costume designs, art direction, musical score, etc. Everything corresponds so well with each other in this film, it's perfect. When the two story-lines finally meet up during the climax in the woods, it makes for one of the most beautiful sequences in any film, ever. Ultimo tango a Parig(1972/Bernardo Bertolucci) [First Viewing] A man suffering with grief begins a strange sexual relationship with a young Parisian woman.Bertolucci's direction is above par, and Storaro's cinematography is still golden, but Bertolucci manages to set up an incredible premise, and plays it out perfectly, until the very end, where it all sort of falls apart. This is a fine showcase for Brando, turning in a performance that is truly his own, and probably his last great one. He made a lot of bad choices after the 1950's (I think he lost it mentality), but this might be his best work overall as an actor. And why am I not surprised that it was him who came up with the butter scene? Jean-Pierre Léaud has an amusing supporting role as a young filmmaker.
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jake
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Post by jake on Nov 6, 2007 16:29:36 GMT
Are you going to be watching The Sheltering Sky in this Bertolucci retrospective you're having Omar?
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Nov 6, 2007 17:37:15 GMT
Yes. But not "The Last Emperor", unfortunately. Netflix doesn't carry it.
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Post by svsg on Nov 7, 2007 4:29:11 GMT
Harsh Times ** Christian Bale acts as a soldier returned from war who gets into crime in LA. The movie was very good almost till the end and Christian Bale does an excellent job. The ending however is somewhat unsatisfactory.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Nov 7, 2007 6:40:20 GMT
The ending however is somewhat unsatisfactory. I left the theater feeling the exact same way. Bale's performance, however, is up there with his best.
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Post by svsg on Nov 7, 2007 7:16:51 GMT
Pather Panchali **** Great stuff from the Bengali director, Satyajit Ray. I believe this was his first movie or at least one of his earliest. I was totally moved by the story, more than anything, of ups and downs, actually minuscule ups among major downs. The helplessness and tragedy of a life in poverty comes out strongly. The camera work and sound/music are also excellent. Highly recommended.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Nov 7, 2007 19:22:28 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.
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