what happened to rohit?
i personally love the intro threads, and i appreciate those who take/have the time to do them. i always read the intro threads for films i’m watching in matches (even if they are few and far between).
i’m having a nice break from work starting in a couple of days, so i’m hoping to just veg out and get into some of these upcoming matches! woo.
I’ve liked Kuxa’s films for the most part, but there’s so damn many of them; some of them have not been worth my time (imo) and some of them have been just great. Kudos to Kuxa for submitting so many, perhaps he loves all the films he submitted, but i haven’t. Doesn’t mean i don’t respect and appreciate his submissions though (and those others who submitted loads). I could really only think of 8 that i really knew and understood in regards to the country of origin’s culture and felt were deserving of the cup for my list.
Feel free to moderate it ;)
Even though I’d rather not encourage personal insults like this I’ll let it stand since Jerry seems to be more invigorated by it than offended. Unless we start getting too much more of this kind of thing and it drives people away.
What I’m seeing is that the sense of competition and personal pride about selection and winning does have a certain draw for people. The other cups you could only continue submitting more films if your fims won. I thought doing away with that here would cut down on the personal attacks. And I think it did, but I think maybe it cut down on participate in general to some extent. Some people just like to be competative.
My participation in the cup has waned due to work and a lot of recent traveling, but i’m keeping up the best i can. I guess i must have missed all the threads with personal attacks because all the matches i’ve been a part of have been pretty civil in their discussions on the films. The only thing that irritates me is the lack of introduction threads/analyses by those who submit films. I’ve only had one that made it in so far (though Riss informed me that another one of mine made it in) and i spent a lot of time trying to appease myself and fellow cup-goers by formulating an in depth analysis and introduction to the film that made it in (which was Ireland’s Six Shooter).
Thanks Brentos! I’ve been missing you around. I always appreciate your comments and enthusiasm. Whenever you can find time keep participating here and there I appreciate it.
I wish more submitters had thought about this rather than throw a list at Riss comprised of mediocre films in hopes of getting attention from Mubi users.
I still really doubt this is the case. I honestly do feel that each user sincerely thought all of the films they submitted were good and not just mediocre, although I just do wish they’d show up more to prove my right.
I find the intro threads and analysis to be somewhat superfluous. I know people like them and it’s not that I don’t like them, but I think much of whatever is brought forward in this threads will essentially be reiterated within the voting thread if there’s any interest in discussion. The voting of the film and the reasoning behind it can be more insightful than an overlong analysis of a particular film.
yay tommy. to be honest, i don’t read the intro threads either, and if i do, i never think i gain enough from them to justify the submitter going to the effort of making them. in fact they usually make me feel guilty that i don’t add anything, and then i’m just less inclined to read the next one. the films, the films…and then if i think i missed something, or hated it and am wondering why anyone wouldn’t, i’ll google for a few reviews….
Well this rather surprises me. Maybe I could always google reviews too, but it’s nice to hear the intro from the person who is part of our community and submitted it here. The intro threads almost always give me insight and make me feel like the experience of the film gets opened up to a whole new level. It’s a bit disappointing to hear that’s not the case for everyone. But I don’t think all of this stuff always comes out in the voting thread, especially if the person who submitted the film never comments in that thread.
for what it’s worth, i actually like reading the intro threads, even though i’m guilty of not commenting very much.
i’ve seen great films in this cup so far, and there are a lot left to see, right? so i’m not complaining….
Well, Riss, you DID open this can of worms
That’s my M.O. :)
Were Riss not a scholar and a genteleman, this whole thing might have collapsed some time ago.
Thanks for saying so Oxy. :) Don’t forget my peristance too though. Once I start it I’m not going to let it die even if it did collapse, of course I’m trying to make an effort here now to keep it from doing that. Hopefully this conversation will invigorate us for a moment until I have to try to get those worms out in the open again.
Oh, and I am picking and choosing which events I’ll be participating in the future. If a film doesn’t grab me, I’m not going to watch it just to cast a vote, esp. if no one says why I should. Not sure how much time I will have to go on with a long event. So, will be around, but can’t possibly make it to every match. I am still reading with interest, even if I don’t vote, all comments. Riss, this is your event and you have put the time in, so it’s up to you how to proceed.
I’m picking and choosing too. I don’t have time for every match, like I said, but I think it’s worthwhile enough and I’d like there to be a few more people participating in any given match so that when I do watch some films I have a few more friends to talk about them with.
I hope this isn’t just my event and that other people can take enjoyment and pride in it. I know I’m excercising a certain ammount of control though, but that was just to try to make it manageable and not get too out of control.
what happened to rohit?
And Ari and Herbie and Lily and a lot more….
Cat, I hope your laptop gets fixed soon!
Ari is taking some time away from all this because he and his wife had a baby recently
I’ve voted in half the matches (15 exactly), I’m excited as ever, I’ve made some astounding discoveries, grateful to all the submitters, on all of whom I’m depositing my trust – I’m sure every single film has been submitted with passion and care -, grateful to meg and all the uploaders, who have generously provided us the opportunities to watch impossible to see films, and to the patience and cyber-elegance of our host/curator. My favourite first time viewings so far (I’m a bit lazy right now, so I’ll just list the titles in English), in no particular order:
Lust For Gold; White Mountains; The Way You Wanted Me; Tree of Knowledge; The Dupes; The Needle; The Circus Tent; To Get To Heaven First You Have To Die; The Corporal and Others; The Temptation of St. Tony; Small Town of Anara; Palms; The Shoe; Good Riddance; Kukuli
Lots of favourites I had previously seen (up to the current match #34), and was very happy to see them submitted:
The Runner; Egg; Happy End; The Beekeeper; Salome; The Dream of a Ridiculous Man; Extraordinary Stories; The Naked Island; The Rose Seller; Touki Bouki; Mother Joan of the Angels; Memories of Underdevelopment; Araya; The Garden; Safrana or the Freedom of Speech; Limite; The Peach Thief; Melancholia; The Stone Cross; Illusion Travels by Streetcar;
Sad about the films I missed for one reason or another, happy to know that I can catch them later:
The Clay Bird; Public Housing; The Secret Nation; A Buddhist Ascetic Mandara; Amelia and the Angel; Uprise
Super excited about what lies ahead, with so many films I’ve always wanted to see; amongst others:
Man of Ashes; Julio Begins in July; The Horse; Dancing in the Rain; The Act in Question; Chouga; Camp de Thiaroye; Bad Luck; The Thief and the Cobbler
Absolutely delighted that more personal favourites have been submitted and chosen:
Healthy People for Pastime; Freedom; Blissfully Yours; Beginning; Die Nibelungen; Nine Lives; Family Nest; The Land; The Wayward Cloud; Pictures of the Old World; Men and Women; Fahrmann Maria; A Tree in Tanjung Malim; Miss Julie
It’s all cinematic bliss for me, not sure what people are complaining about (other than the dispirited and grumpy comments that occasionally pop up); I’m very happy with the way the WC 2012 is going.
I entirely share Jorge’s feelings.
The films
I submitted a long list of movies because I love all these movies. I tried to avoid big names because they might be good candidates for a future director’s cup. Those were my only two criteria. If you want to see titles representative of its country or artistically/historically significant you better try to read a good reference book.
If you want better movies in the cup then maybe you have to submit a longer list of your own favorites.
The participation
I’m trying to see as many movies as I can. Obviously I have no time for some and I’m not interested in others, so I often know only one film per match and I can not vote (e.g. “Made in Hong Kong-Heima”).
About intros and comments I admit my laziness (combined with my poor English), sorry. But I’m reading what others write, at least on the films I know.
I am also trying to provide links to my films, and I’ll do it while I can.
Thanks.
If you want to see titles representative of its country or artistically/historically significant you better try to read a good reference book
i was kind of hoping a world cup would be a short cut for that, and in some submissions it has been. why is it wrong to hope that?
and i did submit a long long far too long list of films, (with a favourite romanian second choice i might add, so it is astonishing that so many other people chose a romanian film as a second choice or above also) – but i don’t want to see the films i’ve chosen, i want to see ones i haven’t seen. i guess i’m ‘not interested in others’ as well, but want to be for every single match.
I’m not saying that’s wrong, magpies. What I’m saying is that we were not encouraged to do that way, were we?
“The Dupes” is hardly representative of Syria. But it’s a great little-known-movie, the type of movie I’m looking for.
i was trying my damn hardest to encourage people to do it that way ;) anyway i’ll shut up
I’ve never seen a film that can be wholly representative of an entire nation. I think it’d be pretty silly if there were such a thing.
it seem weird to me that more people don’t just hop onto the blog and watch a few matches, how many members on this site!? Thousands from so many different countries yet Cup interest/participation historically seems to be generated around a core group – why is there not a broader spread of interest/curiosity, it puzzles me
I have liked the opportunity to watch things I’d never see otherwise, my only internal wrangle is as a relative beginner the viewing time takes me away from catching up on “big stuff” i haven’t seen …anyway I have a new baby in the family so distracted from it right now
HE’S SO CUTE :):)
AWWWWWWWW xD
I KNOOOOOWWW
“And Ari and Herbie and Lily and a lot more….”
Hello!
I stopped participating for a combination of reasons; I was finding the matches I was watching mainly disappointing (though there were some pleasant surprises: I loved White Mountains!), there were some abrasive comments being thrown around at times which kind of runs against my hippie-ish nature and – most importantly – I was really, really busy for a whole host of reasons.
Luckily a couple of those reasons have now disappeared, and others have become more manageable. So I’m very, very tentatively interested in voting in the occasional match again now, though I doubt I’ll become a regular again. I’m going to look through the list of matches later and see if any catch my interest.
I think part of the problem with this cup for me is I don’t really feel like I have much of a frame of reference for what’s going on. I wasn’t around when the last three cups were happening, but I’ve looked through the list of films used and all three of them appeal to me more because it’s easier for me to put the films in some sort of context.. For the directors cups all the films are seen in the context of a director’s body of work, and in addition to that there seems to have been a good mix of well known directors with lesser known ones and everything in between. The original world cup seems to represent the manager’s viewpoint on their chosen country’s cinema, it’s almost like a kind of narrative looking at the choices..and again there’s a mix of obscure stuff and more well known stuff (which is nice for people like me who have seen hardly anything). In comparison this world cup just seems like a random hodgepodge of films thrown in to a cauldron with no real reference point to the mixture that comes out at the end.. Getting rid of managers was a lovely idea of yours and I liked the intent behind it, but in the future I’d prefer it if a country’s broth was looked over by one cook instead of fifty.
Ari is taking some time away from all this because he and his wife had a baby recently
anyway I have a new baby in the family so distracted from it right now
Yay babies!
Congrats to Ari, if you happen to read this.
And congrats to Meg. I’m glad he’s cute ;)
thanks Riss me too as he’s a lot of trouble! but this time round I can hand him back
Ari if you’re reading this I can recommend the black and white image books for newborns, they really look at them and even stop crying … well, sometimes
Cute and a trouble maker!! Bad combo! ;)
I’ve never heard of this thing about the black and white image books. Not that I’m planning on having any children soon, but could you send me info about it too. I’m curious.
Jorge,
Thank you so much for your comments. I’m so glad to hear you are enjoying the cup. I’m glad to see some of my suggested films listed in there of ones you like or are looking forward to. I’ve really enjoyed your suggestion. They give such a delightful variety to the cup, and being so compact in time and ideas can be a real boon as well. :)
Here’s some of my favorites I’ve seen so far (that I didn’t suggest):
The Runner, A Thousand Months, Public Housing, La nación clandestina, The Way You Wanted Me, Tree of Knowledge, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, Extraordinary Stories, Mother Joan of the Angels, Pretty Village, Pretty Flame, There Will Come Soft Rains, Z, Safrana or Freedom of Speech, Small Town of Anara, Palms, Satiemania
As for upcomming ones I’m looking forward to, I was going to make a list but then I realized it was almost all fo them. Heh.
And thank you to Angel for your comments as well. I’m glad to see you around :)
Some favorites: Tree of Knowledge, The Dupes, Good Roddance, Happy End, A Thousand Months
End Happy For Hurray!
it seem weird to me that more people don’t just hop onto the blog and watch a few matches, how many members on this site!? Thousands from so many different countries yet Cup interest/participation historically seems to be generated around a core group – why is there not a broader spread of interest/curiosity, it puzzles me
Yeah I don’t get it either. The cup was what drew me into the community in the first place and now I’m running one so of course I see the appeal. I thought almost everyone posting here would revel in the chance to talk with other people about a film they were all watching together….
Oxymoron
Re the intro threads: I find them interesting and always read them, even if I usually save my comments for the voting. If time is a factor, intro threads aren’t necessary IF the submitter can drop into the voting thread and make a comment or two. I had to look up all the info for Limite myself, for example, to help me figure out that film. Not every film is self-explanatory. Also, I am personally not a fan of all the docs, so may skip those matches in future if they don’t grab me. I just want to see some feature films I wouldn’t otherwise – not more docs.