The thing that astounds me is that he’s unrivaled when it comes to witty dialogue and play on words despite having not learned english until he arrived to the United States.
I’ve never read anything that correlates with what you’re saying Lester. Actually, most of the things I’ve read and seen(including his Thalberg acceptance speech) have stated that he had to flee at the last moment because they were looking for him. He was Jewish, I highly doubt they’d offer him a spot in the Nazi party. Most of his family was killed at Auschwitz.
Yeah, picked this up today myself along with Throne of Blood. I’ve been on both a Kurosawa and Shakespeare bent recently so the two converged for this purchase. Hope Throne of Blood is great, it’s a blind buy. Big fan of Macbeth, Kurosawa and Mifune so I can’t see how I can go wrong.
Hate to make people even more poor but Amazon is having an “Indie Sale” and Criterions such as 8 1/2, The Third Man, M, Bicycle Thieves, La Strada, Black Narcissus, Great Expectations, This Sporting Life, The Tales of Hoffman, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Lady Vanishes, A Canterbury Tale, L’Eclisse, Amarcord, etc etc. are all 15.99.
Hate to make people even more poor but Amazon is having an “Indie Sale” and Criterions such as 8 1/2, The Third Man, M, Bicycle Thieves, Black Narcissus, Great Expectations, This Sporting Life, The Tales of Hoffman, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Lady Vanishes, A Canterbury Tale, L’Eclisse, Amarcord, etc etc. are all 15.99.
The only people that ever say that Netflix is bad are the people with great video stores in their area. For people like myself, there have never been great places like that in my area and Netflix is the best thing ever to me. Without it, I wouldn’t have access to a lot of the movies that I enjoy.
I really enjoyed the movie. Saw it the other night and got to meet Neill and Sharlto, really great guys. I thought it was smart, thrilling, original story(story structure wasn’t though) and a great multifaceted performance by first time actor Sharlto Copley. The aliens are extremely well done and the way he changes your view of them in less than 2 hours is something else. Sure it starts out as a smart movie and descends into action madness, but I kind of liked that. The movie transformed along with the main character. I also loved that there was no particular message rammed down your throat as well.
On the negative side, there are a lot of spots where it goes into a more conventional structure. I felt a lot of moments were rushed because of the style of the movie, though that could have been because the budget was only 30 million and they couldn’t dwell too much on scenes with special effects in them(most of the movie!). I have a feeling that if/when they do a sequel, it’ll be interesting to see it’s budget jump in a big way and still try to maintain that world created by Neill and his team.
The curious part of the trial to me is that apparently he drugged her, yet didn’t know what a quaalude was. I think the mother had already pushed the young girl into drugs and sex and Roman Polanski gave into and made a very very poor choice in the wrong situation. It’s good that there’ll finally be closure to the trial whether he serves time or not. The important thing I think is for the court to listen to the victim’s wishes as she’s been through so much as it is. I’m not completely sure, but I think I remember her saying in the documentary that all the questioning and the trial was as bad as the actual crime.
This movie was personally one of my favorites of the year so far. Easily one of the most suspenseful films I’ve seen come out of the past several years and an action movie where the action comes from the story and the characters. I can’t think of any action movie that can get even the most simple person to want to avoid seeing explosions. You care about these characters and the suspense comes from that caring. It was written by a journalist who actually spent extensive time with these types of soliders. I’m sure he wrote the characters in the movie based on the soldiers he knew.
The ending isn’t supposed to be a macho statement. It’s supposed to be a sad realization of the quote at the beginning of the movie. War is a drug and he is addicted to it. His obvious feeling of being an outsider at home is fully realized in what I thought was a very effective scene in the supermarket where he can’t even decide what to get. It seems your negative opinion of the movie is possibly a misreading of the intentions of the filmmakers. Whether that’s your fault I will not say, but I personally really enjoyed the film.
This movie had a few really good scares and a good build up, but other than that it was a mediocre film. Think of it as this decade’s Blair Witch. A low budget film that is effectively done at it’s budget but completely overhyped.
It’s all about when and where. I wanted to see Where The Wild Things Are opening day but knew that I didn’t want to see it with any kind of crowd which may have interrupted my enjoyment of the movie. So, what I did was went to a two in the afternoon showing and there was maybe six people there and I didn’t have to deal with anybody ruining my viewing experience.
I don’t think they purposefully put out what they think to be movies of low quality at all. A Serious Man is not only one of their funniest but one of their most thematically rich films they’ve made. There’s no need for old crime movie tropes, no maguffin(that I could tell anyhow), etc. It’s a movie where you can take away from it whatever the meaning you think it is. One of their most original and surreal. It’s Kafka and the Old Testament in 1967 Minnesota.
I really enjoyed Brick and have yet to see Brothers Bloom. Also enjoyed his music video for Woke Up New by The Mountain Goats. By the way, I love how the man himself posts in this thread and no one notices. Great work Rian, keep it up.
I also ordered Nights of Cabiria along with 8 1/2 and it says that it’ll be shipping December 1st. Does this mean that I have to wait until they figured it’s out of print in order for them to finally ship me 8 1/2?
I agree it didn’t focus nearly enough on the music itself. It really took a backseat to everything else. I personally loved the heavily Fellini influenced scenes with Kate Blanchett the most, personally. The other sections of the movie were inconsistent, especially the Gere parts for me.
I believe Gael Garcia Bernal is still attached as well. There was talk of Daniel Day-Lewis as well but I’m not sure he’s still attached himself. I personally am really looking forward to this as well.
Depends on the director for me. If it’s a director like Hitchcock or Kurosawa then definitely not. For someone like Tarkovsky, I have watched the films in order and it’s been a very rich experience watching the progression.
For watching most directors work it is. For someone like Tarkovsky or anybody else with a small output it’s more interesting. You may think it’s a dumb idea, yet have you tried it?
I just purchased 8 1/2 during the B&N sale and I noticed something watching it another time, after having seen more of his earlier stuff. Having watched 8 1/2 as my first Fellini was very rewarding, but being able to get some of the references from his earlier films was a richer experience the next time around. It’s those little things that can make for a richer experience if you do have the discipline to watch a director’s work in order.
On Billy Wilder almost 4 years ago
The thing that astounds me is that he’s unrivaled when it comes to witty dialogue and play on words despite having not learned english until he arrived to the United States.
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On Billy Wilder almost 4 years ago
I’ve never read anything that correlates with what you’re saying Lester. Actually, most of the things I’ve read and seen(including his Thalberg acceptance speech) have stated that he had to flee at the last moment because they were looking for him. He was Jewish, I highly doubt they’d offer him a spot in the Nazi party. Most of his family was killed at Auschwitz.
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Ran is now officially OOP almost 4 years ago
Yeah, picked this up today myself along with Throne of Blood. I’ve been on both a Kurosawa and Shakespeare bent recently so the two converged for this purchase. Hope Throne of Blood is great, it’s a blind buy. Big fan of Macbeth, Kurosawa and Mifune so I can’t see how I can go wrong.
Go to Comment
Heads up!!!! 50% off Criterions almost 4 years ago
Hate to make people even more poor but Amazon is having an “Indie Sale” and Criterions such as 8 1/2, The Third Man, M, Bicycle Thieves, La Strada, Black Narcissus, Great Expectations, This Sporting Life, The Tales of Hoffman, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Lady Vanishes, A Canterbury Tale, L’Eclisse, Amarcord, etc etc. are all 15.99.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/dvd/672574011/ref=pd_ts_pg_1?ie=UTF8&pg=1
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Heads up!!!! 50% off Criterions almost 4 years ago
Hate to make people even more poor but Amazon is having an “Indie Sale” and Criterions such as 8 1/2, The Third Man, M, Bicycle Thieves, Black Narcissus, Great Expectations, This Sporting Life, The Tales of Hoffman, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Lady Vanishes, A Canterbury Tale, L’Eclisse, Amarcord, etc etc. are all 15.99.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/dvd/672574011/ref=pd_ts_pg_1?ie=UTF8&pg=1
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The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009, Terry Gilliam) Trailer almost 4 years ago
Terry Gilliam completely unhinged! I can’t get over how incredible it looks. I was really looking forward to it, and now I can’t wait any longer.
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The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009, Terry Gilliam) Trailer almost 4 years ago
I’d say there’s plenty more to look forward to…..
Where The Wild Things Are
Tree of Life
The Road
Shutter Island
Avatar
Lovely Bones
A Serious Man
That’s just to name several. Plenty more there that I could list but I digress.
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Does anybody out there work at a video store that rents all this stuff? I do! almost 4 years ago
The only people that ever say that Netflix is bad are the people with great video stores in their area. For people like myself, there have never been great places like that in my area and Netflix is the best thing ever to me. Without it, I wouldn’t have access to a lot of the movies that I enjoy.
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DISAPPOINTED BY DISTRICT 9 almost 4 years ago
I really enjoyed the movie. Saw it the other night and got to meet Neill and Sharlto, really great guys. I thought it was smart, thrilling, original story(story structure wasn’t though) and a great multifaceted performance by first time actor Sharlto Copley. The aliens are extremely well done and the way he changes your view of them in less than 2 hours is something else. Sure it starts out as a smart movie and descends into action madness, but I kind of liked that. The movie transformed along with the main character. I also loved that there was no particular message rammed down your throat as well.
On the negative side, there are a lot of spots where it goes into a more conventional structure. I felt a lot of moments were rushed because of the style of the movie, though that could have been because the budget was only 30 million and they couldn’t dwell too much on scenes with special effects in them(most of the movie!). I have a feeling that if/when they do a sequel, it’ll be interesting to see it’s budget jump in a big way and still try to maintain that world created by Neill and his team.
Go to Comment
Quentin Tarantino's Top 20 films of the past 17 years almost 4 years ago
“I HAVE sibling rivalry with Orson Welles. I don’t think he’s that good. All right? I have sibling rivalry with him and Stanley Kubrick”
This is what he had to say a few days ago. Figure I’d throw more fuel into the fire.
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Quentin Tarantino's Top 20 films of the past 17 years almost 4 years ago
“I HAVE sibling rivalry with Orson Welles. I don’t think he’s that good. All right? I have sibling rivalry with him and Stanley Kubrick”
This is what he had to say a few days ago. Figure I’d throw more fuel into the fire.
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Henry Gibson RIP over 3 years ago
He made the best Illinois Nazi ever put to screen. RIP
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polanski arrested again over 3 years ago
The curious part of the trial to me is that apparently he drugged her, yet didn’t know what a quaalude was. I think the mother had already pushed the young girl into drugs and sex and Roman Polanski gave into and made a very very poor choice in the wrong situation. It’s good that there’ll finally be closure to the trial whether he serves time or not. The important thing I think is for the court to listen to the victim’s wishes as she’s been through so much as it is. I’m not completely sure, but I think I remember her saying in the documentary that all the questioning and the trial was as bad as the actual crime.
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polanski arrested again over 3 years ago
Double post.
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HYPE MY ASS WITH IT over 3 years ago
This movie was personally one of my favorites of the year so far. Easily one of the most suspenseful films I’ve seen come out of the past several years and an action movie where the action comes from the story and the characters. I can’t think of any action movie that can get even the most simple person to want to avoid seeing explosions. You care about these characters and the suspense comes from that caring. It was written by a journalist who actually spent extensive time with these types of soliders. I’m sure he wrote the characters in the movie based on the soldiers he knew.
The ending isn’t supposed to be a macho statement. It’s supposed to be a sad realization of the quote at the beginning of the movie. War is a drug and he is addicted to it. His obvious feeling of being an outsider at home is fully realized in what I thought was a very effective scene in the supermarket where he can’t even decide what to get. It seems your negative opinion of the movie is possibly a misreading of the intentions of the filmmakers. Whether that’s your fault I will not say, but I personally really enjoyed the film.
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Anyone else excited about the release of Paranormal Activity? over 3 years ago
This movie had a few really good scares and a good build up, but other than that it was a mediocre film. Think of it as this decade’s Blair Witch. A low budget film that is effectively done at it’s budget but completely overhyped.
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another theater experience ruined by loud, smart ass teens over 3 years ago
It’s all about when and where. I wanted to see Where The Wild Things Are opening day but knew that I didn’t want to see it with any kind of crowd which may have interrupted my enjoyment of the movie. So, what I did was went to a two in the afternoon showing and there was maybe six people there and I didn’t have to deal with anybody ruining my viewing experience.
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A SERIOUS MAN - The Coen Brothers' Best Film? over 3 years ago
I just might have to agree. I want to see it another 1-2 times before I can say for sure whether it’s their best or not though.
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A SERIOUS MAN - The Coen Brothers' Best Film? over 3 years ago
I don’t think they purposefully put out what they think to be movies of low quality at all. A Serious Man is not only one of their funniest but one of their most thematically rich films they’ve made. There’s no need for old crime movie tropes, no maguffin(that I could tell anyhow), etc. It’s a movie where you can take away from it whatever the meaning you think it is. One of their most original and surreal. It’s Kafka and the Old Testament in 1967 Minnesota.
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North by Northwest: Your thoughts? over 3 years ago
This along with Notorious are my two favorite Hitchcock movies. I think I’m going to get the new dvd that comes out in a week.
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Rian Johnson, any fans/haters? It'd be interesting to hear how others feel over 3 years ago
I really enjoyed Brick and have yet to see Brothers Bloom. Also enjoyed his music video for Woke Up New by The Mountain Goats. By the way, I love how the man himself posts in this thread and no one notices. Great work Rian, keep it up.
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Anyone into R.E.M.? over 3 years ago
I’ve never been a huge R.E.M fan but I happened to see them live at a festival they were headlining a few years back and they pleasantly surprised me.
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Criterion B&N November 2009 Sale now Live! over 3 years ago
I also ordered Nights of Cabiria along with 8 1/2 and it says that it’ll be shipping December 1st. Does this mean that I have to wait until they figured it’s out of print in order for them to finally ship me 8 1/2?
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what are you writing at the moment ? over 3 years ago
Jason, I’m interested in what you thought of I’m Not There and it’s unconventional approach to the biopic based on your opinion of them.
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what are you writing at the moment ? over 3 years ago
I agree it didn’t focus nearly enough on the music itself. It really took a backseat to everything else. I personally loved the heavily Fellini influenced scenes with Kate Blanchett the most, personally. The other sections of the movie were inconsistent, especially the Gere parts for me.
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Scorsese's Silence over 3 years ago
I believe Gael Garcia Bernal is still attached as well. There was talk of Daniel Day-Lewis as well but I’m not sure he’s still attached himself. I personally am really looking forward to this as well.
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Is it necessary to watch a director's filmography in order? over 3 years ago
Depends on the director for me. If it’s a director like Hitchcock or Kurosawa then definitely not. For someone like Tarkovsky, I have watched the films in order and it’s been a very rich experience watching the progression.
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Is it necessary to watch a director's filmography in order? over 3 years ago
For watching most directors work it is. For someone like Tarkovsky or anybody else with a small output it’s more interesting. You may think it’s a dumb idea, yet have you tried it?
I just purchased 8 1/2 during the B&N sale and I noticed something watching it another time, after having seen more of his earlier stuff. Having watched 8 1/2 as my first Fellini was very rewarding, but being able to get some of the references from his earlier films was a richer experience the next time around. It’s those little things that can make for a richer experience if you do have the discipline to watch a director’s work in order.
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COLD AND SOULESS over 3 years ago
One of the worst movies I’ve seen this year.
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anyone used the search box recently? over 3 years ago
I typed in Godard yesterday and a bunch of Google ads were above the actual search results.
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