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Post by Vercetti on Jan 22, 2006 3:04:10 GMT
I agree with you on Red Eye, Wet Dog, though I consider it a decent, one star film.
Where do you download films? I hear everyone downloading these rare, hard to get films like Aguirre and such, but Limewire doesn't have them, and Torrents usually take a few days.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Jan 22, 2006 3:11:01 GMT
eMule. It takes up a lot of space, and you need to leave it on all the time or it's extremely slow. But there's no better P2P program for films. There's a wide Italian userbase, too, so watch out for dubbed files (they're usually indicated by [ITA], but I've been burned a few times). Leave it on for long lengths of time (even just overnight), while downloading multiple files (maybe a dozen at least), and it's quick and unobtrusive. I don't know what I'd do without it.
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Post by Vercetti on Jan 22, 2006 4:05:28 GMT
But what if I'm not downloading, do you keep it on? Also, how long does it take to download a movie? I know some people who can do it in three hours, but a torrent of Last Days took over two days.
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Post by Mike Sullivan on Jan 22, 2006 4:42:42 GMT
Munich (2005) First Viewing Directed by: Steven Speilberg Rating: [/i] Well, my collegue Ronnie apropialey named this as Speilberg's greatest film since his masterpiece, "Schindler's List in 1993 and that is so. I'll go him one best and call it one of his greatest works. It handles the subject matter of Arab-Isreali tentions marvelously and the suspense is so taut, nail biting... Pure cinema. Must-See. Best of 2005 tied with... Capote (2005) First Viewing Directed by: Bennet Miller Rating: [/i] An excellent account of the reserch Truman Capote underwent in preperation of writing his masterpiece, "In Cold Blood", it allows first time directo Bennett Miller to not only soak up the lush cinematography of the Jet Set New Yorkers of the '50's; It allows him to vividly capture the desolance and the expanse of rural Kansas. Phillip Seymore Hoffmann gives one of the greatest performances in years as the title cahrecter. Although a larger man than the diminuitive Capote, he resembles him much, gets his mannerisims down and even gets the voice TO A TEE. He perfectly captures that obsession that Capote had in the Clutter family murder and the subsiquent investigation, which would serve as the basis for his, "In Cold Blood", which again is not only a masterpiece but the first real non-fiction nvel ever; a genre that would expand with such works as Thomas Kennealy's "Schindler's List" amoung others.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Jan 22, 2006 6:22:06 GMT
Mike, aren't the last few minutes of "Capote" completely spellbinding? I saw it in a packed theater, but during that last scene, no one in the theater moved, let alone make a sound. It was that powerful. When it was over, I had forgotten where I was. Thats what an amazing affect the movie has on the viewer. As for "Munich", my enthusiasm is slowly fading for some reason. No Direction Home: Bob Dylan(2005/Martin Scorsese) [Second Viewing] A documentary covering Bob Dylan's roots to his motorcycle accident in 1966.Scorsese's style remains noticeable throughout this excellent if lengthy documentary. At times, the narrative is reminiscent of "Goodfellas", with showing the rise and fall of a man. Though in my opinion, there was no fall in the quality Dylan produced. The press conference scenes are priceless. The scene where Dylan comes out of the airplane and takes pictures of the photographers had me laughing out loud. L.I.E. {With Commentary from Director Michael Cuesta}(2001/Michael Cuesta) [Second Viewing] After the death of his mother, a Long Island teenager seeks comfort in the company of a sexual predator.The director's commentary helped to add realism for some of the more implausible portions of the film. He also makes continued character observations, which adds to the quality of his writing. The film itself is still as amazing as it was upon a first viewing. The character's problems are so well defined and paralleled with each other. Ultimately, this is a film about redemption, self discovery, and grief. It never falls into cliche and always remains unique and unpredictable. The most riveting film I've seen this decade.
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Post by Vercetti on Jan 22, 2006 6:26:20 GMT
Not to be annoying Omar, but didn't you find the Judas scene to be more of a revelation then a fall? It always strikes me as Dylan finally putting his former fans' opinions behind him, especially when he yelled for his band to play louder.
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Post by svsg on Jan 22, 2006 6:45:35 GMT
Memento Christopher NolanThis movie has the same crazy(in a good sense) editing that was seen in his earlier movie Following. But the difference is that it is backward non-linear. The plot loosely resembles Lost Highway, but minus the bullshit(IMO, ofcourse) of the latter. There is twist in the plot every now and then to retain the interest in a story that doesn't have depth otherwise. But for the novel presentation, this deserves 4 stars.
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Post by ronnierocketago on Jan 22, 2006 7:56:53 GMT
THE CLEARING (2004) - **1/2
Decent if forgettable drama with both greats Robert Redford and Willhem Dafoe in a tale about a man(Dafoe) "forced" to take hostage of a successful businessman(Redford) into the woods and its "clearing". Apparently based on a true story in Holland. Reportedly the first Redford-leading feature to actually play at Redford's Sundance film festival.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Jan 22, 2006 14:04:47 GMT
But what if I'm not downloading, do you keep it on? Also, how long does it take to download a movie? I know some people who can do it in three hours, but a torrent of Last Days took over two days. Well, the way it works, you should always be downloading something. If you try to just download one film after another, it'll be very slow, because it hashes the file into segments and allows each user to download pieces of it. So when your turn is over on one file, if you're downloading others, you'll move on, but if not, you'll just have to wait until your turn comes around again.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Jan 22, 2006 16:02:07 GMT
Not to be annoying Omar, but didn't you find the Judas scene to be more of a revelation then a fall? It always strikes me as Dylan finally putting his former fans' opinions behind him, especially when he yelled for his band to play louder. Well, as I said in my original post, I don't think Dylan ever fell during this period, but in a dramatic sense, and judging by what Scorsese chooses to show us, he had fallen on hard times. I also think that Dylan never let the booing get to him, even well before the "Judas" scene, however compelling it is. Here's a quote from Dylan before a show on August 28th, 1965: (regarding the electric songs that would be played) ...If they don't like it, too bad. They'll have to learn to like it.It's quotes like this that really show how ahead of his time he was and what an independent artist he still is.
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Post by Mike Sullivan on Jan 22, 2006 19:29:25 GMT
Mike, aren't the last few minutes of "Capote" completely spellbinding? I saw it in a packed theater, but during that last scene, no one in the theater moved, let alone make a sound. It was that powerful. When it was over, I had forgotten where I was. Really, for a first time diretor he just kept mounting the presure and just look at Phillip Seymore Hoffmann's face throughout it all. That's just amazing. He really nailed Capote and he makes him human, you like him and yet you realize that he is manipulative and he is just a bastard sometimes.... It helps if you've read, "In Cold Blood". Really, I don't belive any film has really gotten the creative process of a writter potrayed correctly.
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Post by Vercetti on Jan 22, 2006 22:37:20 GMT
But what if I'm not downloading, do you keep it on? Also, how long does it take to download a movie? I know some people who can do it in three hours, but a torrent of Last Days took over two days. Well, the way it works, you should always be downloading something. If you try to just download one film after another, it'll be very slow, because it hashes the file into segments and allows each user to download pieces of it. So when your turn is over on one file, if you're downloading others, you'll move on, but if not, you'll just have to wait until your turn comes around again. This is where I get confused. On Limewire, I search, click on something, and it starts downloading. What do you mean segments and waiting your turn? I downloaded it last night but all the servers were things like "SEX SEX SEX" or "GAY PORN"
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RNL
Global Moderator
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Post by RNL on Jan 22, 2006 22:43:35 GMT
The server I use is Razorback 2.0.
You don't need to understand how it works, but basically it cuts every file up into segments, then allows all the users to download pieces of it in turn, as opposed to, say, KaZaA, where you have to queue up and then download the whole thing (and they have that stupid ranking system). The information for how the pieces relate to eachother is stored on your computer, and when the file is fully downloaded, eMule hashes it back together for you (this actually means that a file that's 70% complete is bigger than a 100% complete file, because of the extra information that needs to be stored).
Log onto Razorback 2.0, then set up a dozen or so files to download (make sure there's enough sources, and enough of those sources are complete sources), prioritise them if you want, then just leave it alone overnight and you should have all of them pretty quickly.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Jan 22, 2006 23:12:18 GMT
Brokeback Mountain(2005/Ang Lee) [First Viewing] Two cowboys fall in love and struggle to keep their relationship going.A film that wants to be an epic, but never really establishes the feel of it. The first love scene is very awkward; not because of the content, but because it is so abrupt and darkly lit. It's a sad film, not because the two main characters can never be together, but because they destroy the lives of the women in their lives, making them the more interesting characters. Despite it's flaws, the film (like Lee's masterpiece "The Ice Storm") is beautiful and there is a lot of attention to period detail. Otherwise, a very underwhelming experience.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Jan 22, 2006 23:38:22 GMT
Fear of Drowning Peter Greenaway 1988, UK[/color] 1st viewing; download- Essentially a Drowning by Numbers (1988) TV promo. Onscreen, Greenaway goes into the ideas behind the film and his ambitions in creating it, while selected images are overlaid with explanatory text, arrows and outlines. Interesting, if superfluous.[/size] Calendar Atom Egoyan 1993, Armenia / Canada / Germany[/color] 1st viewing; download- Egoyan on a shoestring budget. A brilliant film. I don't know how to explain... There are three 'realities' here. Egoyan and his wife travel to Armenia to collect 12 photographs of culturally important temples for a calendar he's been contracted to produce. These temples are viewed through a static film camera that is supposed to be still but supports motion. Egoyan himself never appears onscreen here, just his wife and the tour-guide she's falling in love with. Secondly, the couple records their journey on video, on which Egoyan again does not appear, but which becomes his memory as he sits in the third, 'present day' reality performing a prescripted dinner routine with various callgirls. While the calendar he produced hangs on the wall, now without motion, the girls make phonecalls in foreign languages and he writes a letter to his ex-wife. It's incredibly powerful and intelligent ...and I've failed to explain it.[/size] Inside Rooms: 26 Bathrooms, London and Oxfordshire, 1985 26 Bathrooms Peter Greenaway 1985, UK[/color] 1st viewing; download- Running through the alphabet, Greenaway investigates peculiar and commonplace bathroom activities. "There's nothing like a quiet smoke in your bathroom," claims one of the interviewees. "Q is for a Quiet Smoke," agrees the voiceover. Funny stuff.[/size] Elevated Vincenzo Natali 1996, Canada[/color] 1st viewing; download- Precursor to Cube (1997). Three people find themselves trapped inside an elevator, hiding from monsters that may or may not exist. Shows promise.[/size]
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Post by Vercetti on Jan 23, 2006 1:40:27 GMT
Cinderella Man - (Ron Howard;2005;USA) The story of boxer Jim Braddock's fall during the Great Depression and his rise to fight the champion Max Baer.A film that is watchable for it's actors and music rather then the direction, which is for Howard, once again corny and melodramatic. It fails to be as thought-provoking as Million Dollar Baby or character studyeasque as Raging Bull though some of it's boxing scenes have some good elements. Instead it turns out to be a routine production. I give it a decent rating because it's cast carries it well, making you forget that it's too long. Giamatti's charisma is wonderful in particular. Otherwise this is far from the masterpiece people have been inflating this to be.
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Marty
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Post by Marty on Jan 23, 2006 7:15:13 GMT
Rounders (John Dahl. US 1998) 1st (and last) viewing A talented law student, who fancies himself as a bit of a wide boy, dreams of becoming a Poker ChampionThis is probably the worst movie i've rented recently, and when you consider that recent rentals include War Of The Worlds and The Fantastic Four..(I know but I used to be a big comics fan)... then thats saying quite a bit. With an excellent cast wasted on a pretentious and somewhat self absorbed script which has delusions of being "Mean Streets" the disappointment just got worse. the one redeeming feature for me (and hence the half a star) was the over the top, totally honey roasted ham performance of John Malkovich, who's cookie munching Russian gangster steals the limited screen time he occupies.
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Post by svsg on Jan 23, 2006 7:31:00 GMT
Mr and Mrs Smith no stars crap.
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Post by Vercetti on Jan 24, 2006 1:19:30 GMT
Glad you loved it. My favorite movie, and I think Capo's as well, unless The French Connection made a comeback.
Not a moment of it I didn't enjoy.
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