1. Taxi Driver
2. Raging Bull
3. The King of Comedy
4. GoodFellas
5. Mean Streets
6. The Last Temptation of Christ
7. The Age of Innocence
8. After Hours
9. Bringing Out the Dead
10. Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Donnie Darko, Magnolia, Flags of Our Fathers (actually just sub all Paul Haggis scripts into there, save perhaps Casino Royale, which was split up over several rewrites)
And when I was in high school everyone loved The Boondock Saints, but even though I’m not even out of college yet the number of people I know who like it has dropped significantly, which pleases me to no end.
I would define a fanboy not as someone who thinks a director can do no wrong (though that’s usually a good indicator) but those who make any reasonable discussion of a filmmaker moot. I have to some degree enjoyed all of Kevin Smith’s movies (typically more than I have Judd Apatow’s and many of the films he’s produced, save Forgetting Sarah Marshall), and I even post on his web board and have made friends there, but I can see the open flaws of his work. And Tarantino…I recently had a discussion with someone about Inglourious Basterds. He asked me what I thought about it, and I began this spiel about how I loved it, its cheekily literal take on French New Wave ideas (cinema used literally as a weapon), appropriation of Western themes (with Nazi-controlled Europe cast as the corrupt law of the East and America, through Raine, as the no-more-just personal morality of the West), how the final shootout reminded me of Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom in its juxtaposition with the audience within the film’s reaction to violence with IB’s audience reacting with the same cheers when the in-film audience began to die. I have other reasons for thoroughly enjoying the film, but I tried not to go overboard. As soon as I finished, the guy looked at me for a second and said, “Wasn’t that last bit where he carved the swastika in the dude’s face AWESOME?!”
I’ve never wanted to punch someone so badly. I thought he was being sarcastic until I stared into those cold dead eyes and saw only my reflection.
I KNOW, right? They’re all like, “Nobody examines the metaphysics of life the way Kieslowski did with The Decalogue and Three Colors” and I’m like “BUT THERE’S NO EXPLOSIONS!” Shit, he even crashed a boat and didn’t have the decency to light something on fire. But that won’t stop those beret-wearing “cineastes” from latching onto that bandwagon.
I didn’t get into film until the summer of ‘07 in between high school graduation and going to college (watched Seven Samurai on a whim, which set the ball rolling), but I spent most of the last two years just watching everything. I saw over 600 last year and I’m hovering around 550 now. However, I’ve only averaged about 70 per year at the theater because A) I go to school in Alabama and can only see interesting limited release fare when I buck up the adrenaline to drive to Atlanta and B) these last two years have been mostly shite at the cineplex. I can find about 20 films in each year that I really enjoy, but that’s because I largely stayed home for most stuff that didn’t interest me (money’s tight, and there was like a two month stretch this year where I went to the theater maybe three times, two of them for the same movie). Hopefully I can get an internship at a local paper to at least pay for me so I can go to the theater more often if not serve as a critic.
I regret buying Gimme Shelter only for them to announce a month later that it was coming to Blu-Ray. I don’t regret the film itself at all. I also bought The Third Man on standard and was (pleasantly, of course) surprised to get a PS3 shortly thereafter. I already hocked Gimme Shelter to make way, and when I clear out some other standard DVDs I no longer watch I’ll toss in The Third Man to upgrade.
But the only Criterion buy I regretted was getting the full box set of Brazil, when I only watched the other two discs once apiece and only ever watch the proper cut of the film I could have gotten for half the price in a standalone copy. I know that none of these really fit, but I tend to rent anything I haven’t seen before shelling out Criterion money. I almost, ALMOST blind-bought Gomorrah, and thank God I decided to play it safe because I was underwhelmed and had no desire to ever watch it again.
Casablanca – I think this Bogey fella could go places- what? Oh, when? That long ago? Anyway, as a performer, Bogey wasn’t so much one-note as one-chord: it was usually the same role, but there was enough pathos and room to stretch within to branch out and be noticeably different. I always thought that everything he said on-screen was funny and/or intimidating, and Casablanca finds the best balance of the two (I still laugh when Strasser reads all the details of Rick’s life, and Rick takes the dossier and says “Are my eyes really brown?”); I still prefer his totally dark and tragic work in In a Lonely Place, but this may be his most “complete” work. As for the rest, it’s Casablanca, yeah? 5/5
@crusser- GAH, I hate the effing trials Criterion has to go through with rights. The death of the Ran Blu-Ray still stings so deeply. Maybe I’ll stumble across a stray copy left in a Barnes and Noble like I did the standard DVD of Ran months after it went OOP * fingers crossed *
I had seen some of the greats in high school (The Godfathers, Taxi Driver, Casablanca, etc.), and my favorite movies exiting high school were Dr. Strangelove and Apocalypse Now. But in the interim between graduation and heading to college, I watched Seven Samurai because it was the one film in the IMDB Top 10 I hadn’t seen (oh, to be young and innocent again), and that was all she wrote. Now, 2-1/2 years later, I dropped out of Engineering — I would have flunked out anyway — to pursue Journalism and I’ve been reading and watching on the side to be a film critic.
It has damn near ruined my relationship with friends and family ;)
@Bodine: I meant that the announcement never came to fruition because they lost the rights. I’d been all geared up to get it when the news came through that they lost the rights, which made me run to B&N to snag a standard copy.
Don’t get a whole lot in Alabama (make trips now and then to Atlanta to see stuff), but Netflix put a bunch of stuff up recently to watch insantly and I’m home in GA for winter break so I’ve been rapidly catching up. Right now, a top 15 would probably be:
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. The Hurt Locker
3./4. Goodbye Solo/A Serious Man
5. Silent Light
6. In the Loop
7. The Limits of Control
8. Bright Star
9. The Girlfriend Experience
10. World’s Greatest Dad
11. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call, New Orleans
12. Up
13. Adventureland
14. Moon
15. Ponyo
Stuff I still need to watch (based on movies that got limited releases in the US in ‘09, not festivals or international releases): The Headless Woman, The White Ribbon, Up in the Air, Summer Hours, 35 Rhums, 24 City, Two Lovers, Tulpan and I’m sure a lot else.
Having only gotten into movies two years ago, my list doesn’t really have anything truly obscure on it, but this is all about my preferred flicks anyway so who cares?
1. Yi Yi (Edward Yang)
2. No Country for Old Men (Coen bros)
3. Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman)
4. Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr)
5. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg)
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michael Gondry)
7. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch)
8. The Pianist (Roman Polanski)
9. Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro)
10. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino) — I swear I have reasons besides “Wasn’t it cool”
11. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar)
12. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai)
13. Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe)
14. Moolaadé (Ousmane Sembene)
15. Kings and Queen (Arnaud Desplechin)
16. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki)
17. 25th Hour (Spike Lee)
18. Half Nelson (Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden)
19. Caché (Michael Haneke)
20. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)
21. Collateral (Michael Mann)
22. Let the Right One In (Thomas Alfredson)
23. The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)
24. Zodiac (David Fincher)
25. Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
HM: Russian Ark (Alexander Sukurov), 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu), Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón), Kingdom of Heaven [the director’s cut] (Ridley Scott), A History of Violence (David Cronenbeg)
I’m actually thrilled with almost all the Blu-Ray titles that have been announced and made available for pre-order, which is a problem for someone without a job (at least until I tutor next semester). I’m really pumped for the Yojimbo/Sanjuro set (though I was hoping the restored print of Rashomon might have made its way to Blu sooner, as the DVD really needs replacing), Paris Texas, 8-1/2, Days of Heaven, Bigger Than Life (the only one I haven’t seen, but I’ll put my faith in Nick Ray). I’ll have to see Revanche, Che and Hunger before I shell out, though Soderbergh’s intriguing enough of a director that I can probably guess I’ll pick up Che at least. As for the standard DVDs, the Rossellini certainly caught my eye.
A.I. is the only one that readily comes to mind. Didn’t like it the first time I saw it, and now it’s inseparable from my list of the films of the decade. Actually, most of Spielberg’s films this decade would qualify (except that Indy business we shan’t discuss). I also used to regard Dazed and Confused as the lesser film compared to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, to which it’s so often paired I actually bought a two-pack containing them. Now I see Fast Times as Crowe in training while Dazed is one of the most perfectly realized teenage movies around, though Crowe has at least one of those in Say Anything (not sure if Almost Famous quite fits that bill).
I don’t think I love Fast Times; it was just the one that, at the time, seemed more immediately funny (and breastier, which is nice when you’re a young lad) of the two, but I love the other two. Strange, since I’m too young for them to tug at any nostalgic threads.
I was extraordinarily ambivalent toward Antichrist, which is odd because it’s trying so hard to get a rise out of you. I am many leagues away from being a von Trier pusher, but this is the first film I ever seriously considered might be misogynistic. I decided against that later, and I actually think it’s probably his most honest work, what with it being his attempt to work through depression. Maybe that’s what throws me about the film: cinema’s Loki cut the BS and tried to be utterly honest with himself. So I guess I finally “get” at least part of it in the months since I’ve seen it and I threw my hands up over it, but I certainly still don’t like the damn thing.
However, Charlotte Gainsbourg renders every future (and past) use of the term “fearless” to describe an acting performance null and void. I may pick up the movie just to study her more (and it’ll look gorgeous on Blu, let’s be honest).
“I will say, though, that I don’t think the film is honest, and that it’s complete BS (story-wise, not emotion-wise).”
Oh, I don’t think it’s very incisive or has a big point to make (I still don’t know what to make of its point about gynocide and women in general), but I think there’s an honesty BEHIND the film that doesn’t exist in the other VT works I’ve seen, even Breaking the Waves which I unreservedly adore. Building off what you said, I find emotional honesty despite the narrative insanity.
According to the list I keep on DVD Aficionado, I’ve got 320 SDVDs (though I’ve since sold a number of old films I had as a younger lad that I have no use for anymore), another 76 TV sets and just under 90 Blu_Rays. Christ, where the hell did I even get the money for all that?
“Does anyone think that what Sayid said happened to Desmond actually happened to Desmond? (without saying anything specific…) I doubt it, myself.”
Of course not. A) I don’t know if Naveen Andrews has officially given up or what, but he can’t sell anything anymore and B) Des won’t go away until they make it inescapably clear that he’s gone.
I thought it was a good episode overall, especially since it’s a “move the characters to where they need to be which for some reason takes an entire episode and maybe more” episode, but Jesus I wish that sonic fence had been on at the end. 3 damn seasons they’ve been drawing that out and the emotional payoff is a 30-second sack of banality that seemed about as affecting as them finding Vincent again, and that probably would have been more emotional because everyone loves dogs more than humans these days. At least if the fence had been on there would have been a good laugh.
The Jack/Locke bonding is the second most interesting thing this season to Desmond returning and being awesome, though, so I’m hoping these last four episodes really amp up. And seriously, ABC, you’re giving Lost the week off next Tuesday? You already took a break. It was called the Kate episode.
I think it’s really awesome that the past residents of the island frantically dug wells to search for the truth but apparently only dug them about 11 feet deep and used some great masonry to leave crooks and wedges for anyone trapped to climb out. It’s so weird how they did that!
@ Kenji: “I would love to be a film programmer, i think i could do a reasonable job at most arthouse cinemas, but being a good critic, and really working at it, honourably and honouring the artform, would be tough- a rare breed really.”
Well, that’s the great thing about writing: it’s easy to keep improving as long as you’re putting some effort into it. I’m amazed at how much more I know about film than I did just 6-8 months ago, just by, you know, reading up on history and such. Really, when I look to a critic for inspiration, or simply just for an opinion, I mainly look for two things: honesty and passion. Passion, real passion, typically makes the critic well-read and insightful, but honesty is just essential. For me, Armond White, who is a genuinely good writer and actually insightful when he wants to be, is no different from the quotewhores who give rave reviews to everything because it was either bought with gifts or written to get attention. If I can’t trust that what you’re writing is sincere, then i don’t care, and I think that some people’s issues with critics stems from their idea that critics just try to impress each other with obscure tastes.
The White Ribbon made me have a small breakdown when I left the theater. But I attribute that to its masterful pacing and structure (and especially what it DOESN’T show) than the film itself being repugnant.
What would you do if someone told you that your dream was a dream, Jimmy? What. Would. You. Do.
And are Asians still getting shit in the 21st century? I mean, if they’re going to be as stereotypical as having Mean Girls bitch her out, wouldn’t those girls actually be paying her to do their homework? Jesus, they can’t even conform to the right stereotypes.
Damn, my cookies got reset so I got logged out of here, and when I came back the generic home page still said the Auteurs. When I logged in, though, it became MUBI again. That’s a rotten trick.
1. 52 with a few more to come. Certified Copy was my favorite
2. Certified Copy, Carlos, Bluebeard, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
3. Lola Montes
4. Secret Sunshine (though maybe that does count as 2010 for us Americans), Close-Up
5. From this year, Scott Pilgrim. In recent years, Inglourious Basterds (best piece of termite art disguised as pure white elephant spectacle since Gangs of New York).
6. The War for Late Night (I’m soooo behind on ‘10 books)
7. Farber on Film
8. Pass
9. The Library of Congress’ James Agee collection
10. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Agalloch – Marrow of the Spirit
I’ve spent a solid year planning to buy Sweetie, one of my all-time favorite debuts and a top 10 of the ‘80s, but I kept spending my money on other things that didn’t require me to order them off Amazon. I’m so glad I kept getting delayed now so I can pick up the Blu.
And now I’m even more glad that March only had like two things I wanted. Both February and April are going to destroy my wallet. I want every Blu-Ray listed for April (except maybe Kes, which I like but need to see again before committing to owning it), although Fear and Loathing, as much as I love it, could wait until I’ve got more spare cash since I have the DVD. But Le cercle rouge, Blow Out, Sweetie and White Material are day ones for me, and Fear and Loathing will definitely get the upgrade in my collection during a slower, less financially bruising month.
Prince of Darkness just shot from near the bottom of my list to no. 1 or 2 (can’t pick between it and In the Mouth of Madness). Add Assault on Precinct 13, The Thing and Escape from NY to round out the top 5.
Top Scorsese over 3 years ago
Narrative films only
1. Taxi Driver
2. Raging Bull
3. The King of Comedy
4. GoodFellas
5. Mean Streets
6. The Last Temptation of Christ
7. The Age of Innocence
8. After Hours
9. Bringing Out the Dead
10. Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
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Movies you hated that everyone else loves over 3 years ago
Donnie Darko, Magnolia, Flags of Our Fathers (actually just sub all Paul Haggis scripts into there, save perhaps Casino Royale, which was split up over several rewrites)
And when I was in high school everyone loved The Boondock Saints, but even though I’m not even out of college yet the number of people I know who like it has dropped significantly, which pleases me to no end.
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Which directors have the worst fanboys? over 3 years ago
I would define a fanboy not as someone who thinks a director can do no wrong (though that’s usually a good indicator) but those who make any reasonable discussion of a filmmaker moot. I have to some degree enjoyed all of Kevin Smith’s movies (typically more than I have Judd Apatow’s and many of the films he’s produced, save Forgetting Sarah Marshall), and I even post on his web board and have made friends there, but I can see the open flaws of his work. And Tarantino…I recently had a discussion with someone about Inglourious Basterds. He asked me what I thought about it, and I began this spiel about how I loved it, its cheekily literal take on French New Wave ideas (cinema used literally as a weapon), appropriation of Western themes (with Nazi-controlled Europe cast as the corrupt law of the East and America, through Raine, as the no-more-just personal morality of the West), how the final shootout reminded me of Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom in its juxtaposition with the audience within the film’s reaction to violence with IB’s audience reacting with the same cheers when the in-film audience began to die. I have other reasons for thoroughly enjoying the film, but I tried not to go overboard. As soon as I finished, the guy looked at me for a second and said, “Wasn’t that last bit where he carved the swastika in the dude’s face AWESOME?!”
I’ve never wanted to punch someone so badly. I thought he was being sarcastic until I stared into those cold dead eyes and saw only my reflection.
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Which directors have the worst fanboys? over 3 years ago
“Krzyzstof Kieslowski fanboys are SO annoying!”
I KNOW, right? They’re all like, “Nobody examines the metaphysics of life the way Kieslowski did with The Decalogue and Three Colors” and I’m like “BUT THERE’S NO EXPLOSIONS!” Shit, he even crashed a boat and didn’t have the decency to light something on fire. But that won’t stop those beret-wearing “cineastes” from latching onto that bandwagon.
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How Many Movies Do You Watch in a Year? over 3 years ago
I didn’t get into film until the summer of ‘07 in between high school graduation and going to college (watched Seven Samurai on a whim, which set the ball rolling), but I spent most of the last two years just watching everything. I saw over 600 last year and I’m hovering around 550 now. However, I’ve only averaged about 70 per year at the theater because A) I go to school in Alabama and can only see interesting limited release fare when I buck up the adrenaline to drive to Atlanta and B) these last two years have been mostly shite at the cineplex. I can find about 20 films in each year that I really enjoy, but that’s because I largely stayed home for most stuff that didn’t interest me (money’s tight, and there was like a two month stretch this year where I went to the theater maybe three times, two of them for the same movie). Hopefully I can get an internship at a local paper to at least pay for me so I can go to the theater more often if not serve as a critic.
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What Criterion Blind-Buys Do You Regret? over 3 years ago
I regret buying Gimme Shelter only for them to announce a month later that it was coming to Blu-Ray. I don’t regret the film itself at all. I also bought The Third Man on standard and was (pleasantly, of course) surprised to get a PS3 shortly thereafter. I already hocked Gimme Shelter to make way, and when I clear out some other standard DVDs I no longer watch I’ll toss in The Third Man to upgrade.
But the only Criterion buy I regretted was getting the full box set of Brazil, when I only watched the other two discs once apiece and only ever watch the proper cut of the film I could have gotten for half the price in a standalone copy. I know that none of these really fit, but I tend to rent anything I haven’t seen before shelling out Criterion money. I almost, ALMOST blind-bought Gomorrah, and thank God I decided to play it safe because I was underwhelmed and had no desire to ever watch it again.
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Last movie you saw and rate it over 3 years ago
Casablanca – I think this Bogey fella could go places- what? Oh, when? That long ago? Anyway, as a performer, Bogey wasn’t so much one-note as one-chord: it was usually the same role, but there was enough pathos and room to stretch within to branch out and be noticeably different. I always thought that everything he said on-screen was funny and/or intimidating, and Casablanca finds the best balance of the two (I still laugh when Strasser reads all the details of Rick’s life, and Rick takes the dossier and says “Are my eyes really brown?”); I still prefer his totally dark and tragic work in In a Lonely Place, but this may be his most “complete” work. As for the rest, it’s Casablanca, yeah? 5/5
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What Criterion Blind-Buys Do You Regret? over 3 years ago
@crusser- GAH, I hate the effing trials Criterion has to go through with rights. The death of the Ran Blu-Ray still stings so deeply. Maybe I’ll stumble across a stray copy left in a Barnes and Noble like I did the standard DVD of Ran months after it went OOP * fingers crossed *
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At what age or what stage of your life have you really started getting into film? over 3 years ago
I had seen some of the greats in high school (The Godfathers, Taxi Driver, Casablanca, etc.), and my favorite movies exiting high school were Dr. Strangelove and Apocalypse Now. But in the interim between graduation and heading to college, I watched Seven Samurai because it was the one film in the IMDB Top 10 I hadn’t seen (oh, to be young and innocent again), and that was all she wrote. Now, 2-1/2 years later, I dropped out of Engineering — I would have flunked out anyway — to pursue Journalism and I’ve been reading and watching on the side to be a film critic.
It has damn near ruined my relationship with friends and family ;)
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What Criterion Blind-Buys Do You Regret? over 3 years ago
@Bodine: I meant that the announcement never came to fruition because they lost the rights. I’d been all geared up to get it when the news came through that they lost the rights, which made me run to B&N to snag a standard copy.
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Top Films of 2009 - so far over 3 years ago
Don’t get a whole lot in Alabama (make trips now and then to Atlanta to see stuff), but Netflix put a bunch of stuff up recently to watch insantly and I’m home in GA for winter break so I’ve been rapidly catching up. Right now, a top 15 would probably be:
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. The Hurt Locker
3./4. Goodbye Solo/A Serious Man
5. Silent Light
6. In the Loop
7. The Limits of Control
8. Bright Star
9. The Girlfriend Experience
10. World’s Greatest Dad
11. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call, New Orleans
12. Up
13. Adventureland
14. Moon
15. Ponyo
Stuff I still need to watch (based on movies that got limited releases in the US in ‘09, not festivals or international releases): The Headless Woman, The White Ribbon, Up in the Air, Summer Hours, 35 Rhums, 24 City, Two Lovers, Tulpan and I’m sure a lot else.
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THE AUTEURS BEST OF THE DECADE: FILMS over 3 years ago
Having only gotten into movies two years ago, my list doesn’t really have anything truly obscure on it, but this is all about my preferred flicks anyway so who cares?
1. Yi Yi (Edward Yang)
”
2. No Country for Old Men (Coen bros)
3. Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman)
4. Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr)
5. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg)
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michael Gondry)
7. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch)
8. The Pianist (Roman Polanski)
9. Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro)
10. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino) — I swear I have reasons besides “Wasn’t it cool
11. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar)
12. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai)
13. Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe)
14. Moolaadé (Ousmane Sembene)
15. Kings and Queen (Arnaud Desplechin)
16. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki)
17. 25th Hour (Spike Lee)
18. Half Nelson (Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden)
19. Caché (Michael Haneke)
20. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)
21. Collateral (Michael Mann)
22. Let the Right One In (Thomas Alfredson)
23. The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)
24. Zodiac (David Fincher)
25. Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
HM: Russian Ark (Alexander Sukurov), 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu), Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón), Kingdom of Heaven [the director’s cut] (Ridley Scott), A History of Violence (David Cronenbeg)
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What Criterion releases are you looking forward to most? over 3 years ago
I’m actually thrilled with almost all the Blu-Ray titles that have been announced and made available for pre-order, which is a problem for someone without a job (at least until I tutor next semester). I’m really pumped for the Yojimbo/Sanjuro set (though I was hoping the restored print of Rashomon might have made its way to Blu sooner, as the DVD really needs replacing), Paris Texas, 8-1/2, Days of Heaven, Bigger Than Life (the only one I haven’t seen, but I’ll put my faith in Nick Ray). I’ll have to see Revanche, Che and Hunger before I shell out, though Soderbergh’s intriguing enough of a director that I can probably guess I’ll pick up Che at least. As for the standard DVDs, the Rossellini certainly caught my eye.
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Films you absolutely hated the first time you watched them, only to love them later. over 3 years ago
A.I. is the only one that readily comes to mind. Didn’t like it the first time I saw it, and now it’s inseparable from my list of the films of the decade. Actually, most of Spielberg’s films this decade would qualify (except that Indy business we shan’t discuss). I also used to regard Dazed and Confused as the lesser film compared to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, to which it’s so often paired I actually bought a two-pack containing them. Now I see Fast Times as Crowe in training while Dazed is one of the most perfectly realized teenage movies around, though Crowe has at least one of those in Say Anything (not sure if Almost Famous quite fits that bill).
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Films you absolutely hated the first time you watched them, only to love them later. over 3 years ago
I don’t think I love Fast Times; it was just the one that, at the time, seemed more immediately funny (and breastier, which is nice when you’re a young lad) of the two, but I love the other two. Strange, since I’m too young for them to tug at any nostalgic threads.
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Criterion Coming Soon and Discussion Redux about 3 years ago
I was extraordinarily ambivalent toward Antichrist, which is odd because it’s trying so hard to get a rise out of you. I am many leagues away from being a von Trier pusher, but this is the first film I ever seriously considered might be misogynistic. I decided against that later, and I actually think it’s probably his most honest work, what with it being his attempt to work through depression. Maybe that’s what throws me about the film: cinema’s Loki cut the BS and tried to be utterly honest with himself. So I guess I finally “get” at least part of it in the months since I’ve seen it and I threw my hands up over it, but I certainly still don’t like the damn thing.
However, Charlotte Gainsbourg renders every future (and past) use of the term “fearless” to describe an acting performance null and void. I may pick up the movie just to study her more (and it’ll look gorgeous on Blu, let’s be honest).
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Criterion Coming Soon and Discussion Redux about 3 years ago
“I will say, though, that I don’t think the film is honest, and that it’s complete BS (story-wise, not emotion-wise).”
Oh, I don’t think it’s very incisive or has a big point to make (I still don’t know what to make of its point about gynocide and women in general), but I think there’s an honesty BEHIND the film that doesn’t exist in the other VT works I’ve seen, even Breaking the Waves which I unreservedly adore. Building off what you said, I find emotional honesty despite the narrative insanity.
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How Big Is Your DVD Collection? about 3 years ago
According to the list I keep on DVD Aficionado, I’ve got 320 SDVDs (though I’ve since sold a number of old films I had as a younger lad that I have no use for anymore), another 76 TV sets and just under 90 Blu_Rays. Christ, where the hell did I even get the money for all that?
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Lost about 3 years ago
“Does anyone think that what Sayid said happened to Desmond actually happened to Desmond? (without saying anything specific…) I doubt it, myself.”
Of course not. A) I don’t know if Naveen Andrews has officially given up or what, but he can’t sell anything anymore and B) Des won’t go away until they make it inescapably clear that he’s gone.
I thought it was a good episode overall, especially since it’s a “move the characters to where they need to be which for some reason takes an entire episode and maybe more” episode, but Jesus I wish that sonic fence had been on at the end. 3 damn seasons they’ve been drawing that out and the emotional payoff is a 30-second sack of banality that seemed about as affecting as them finding Vincent again, and that probably would have been more emotional because everyone loves dogs more than humans these days. At least if the fence had been on there would have been a good laugh.
The Jack/Locke bonding is the second most interesting thing this season to Desmond returning and being awesome, though, so I’m hoping these last four episodes really amp up. And seriously, ABC, you’re giving Lost the week off next Tuesday? You already took a break. It was called the Kate episode.
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Lost about 3 years ago
I think it’s really awesome that the past residents of the island frantically dug wells to search for the truth but apparently only dug them about 11 feet deep and used some great masonry to leave crooks and wedges for anyone trapped to climb out. It’s so weird how they did that!
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Lost about 3 years ago
" ‘Looks like somebody found her voice again.’
Best line of the entire series."
That’d be sarcasm, then, right? Nearly turned off my TV at that point.
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why do people hate film critics so much about 3 years ago
@ Kenji: “I would love to be a film programmer, i think i could do a reasonable job at most arthouse cinemas, but being a good critic, and really working at it, honourably and honouring the artform, would be tough- a rare breed really.”
Well, that’s the great thing about writing: it’s easy to keep improving as long as you’re putting some effort into it. I’m amazed at how much more I know about film than I did just 6-8 months ago, just by, you know, reading up on history and such. Really, when I look to a critic for inspiration, or simply just for an opinion, I mainly look for two things: honesty and passion. Passion, real passion, typically makes the critic well-read and insightful, but honesty is just essential. For me, Armond White, who is a genuinely good writer and actually insightful when he wants to be, is no different from the quotewhores who give rave reviews to everything because it was either bought with gifts or written to get attention. If I can’t trust that what you’re writing is sincere, then i don’t care, and I think that some people’s issues with critics stems from their idea that critics just try to impress each other with obscure tastes.
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Films that made you physically ill after watching about 3 years ago
The White Ribbon made me have a small breakdown when I left the theater. But I attribute that to its masterful pacing and structure (and especially what it DOESN’T show) than the film itself being repugnant.
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STOP THE LISTS! about 3 years ago
It’s the guitar bridge around the 1:50 mark that really sells it, I think.
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STOP THE LISTS! about 3 years ago
“I love when the kid punches the wall. :D”
What would you do if someone told you that your dream was a dream, Jimmy? What. Would. You. Do.
And are Asians still getting shit in the 21st century? I mean, if they’re going to be as stereotypical as having Mean Girls bitch her out, wouldn’t those girls actually be paying her to do their homework? Jesus, they can’t even conform to the right stereotypes.
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MUBI NEWS about 3 years ago
Damn, my cookies got reset so I got logged out of here, and when I came back the generic home page still said the Auteurs. When I logged in, though, it became MUBI again. That’s a rotten trick.
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SO, WHEN THAT CRITERION B&N SALE ROLLS AROUND.... almost 3 years ago
Blu-Rays:
Black Narcissus
The Red Shoes
DVDs
Wise Blood
Sansho the Bailiff
2 or 3 Things I Know About Her
Rossellini’s War Trilogy
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2010 Movie Questionnaire over 2 years ago
1. 52 with a few more to come. Certified Copy was my favorite
2. Certified Copy, Carlos, Bluebeard, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
3. Lola Montes
4. Secret Sunshine (though maybe that does count as 2010 for us Americans), Close-Up
5. From this year, Scott Pilgrim. In recent years, Inglourious Basterds (best piece of termite art disguised as pure white elephant spectacle since Gangs of New York).
6. The War for Late Night (I’m soooo behind on ‘10 books)
7. Farber on Film
8. Pass
9. The Library of Congress’ James Agee collection
10. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Agalloch – Marrow of the Spirit
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Criterion Coming Soon and Discussion Redux over 2 years ago
I’ve spent a solid year planning to buy Sweetie, one of my all-time favorite debuts and a top 10 of the ‘80s, but I kept spending my money on other things that didn’t require me to order them off Amazon. I’m so glad I kept getting delayed now so I can pick up the Blu.
And now I’m even more glad that March only had like two things I wanted. Both February and April are going to destroy my wallet. I want every Blu-Ray listed for April (except maybe Kes, which I like but need to see again before committing to owning it), although Fear and Loathing, as much as I love it, could wait until I’ve got more spare cash since I have the DVD. But Le cercle rouge, Blow Out, Sweetie and White Material are day ones for me, and Fear and Loathing will definitely get the upgrade in my collection during a slower, less financially bruising month.
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John Carpenter 7 months ago
Prince of Darkness just shot from near the bottom of my list to no. 1 or 2 (can’t pick between it and In the Mouth of Madness). Add Assault on Precinct 13, The Thing and Escape from NY to round out the top 5.
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