I always tell people my favorite film is p. t. anderson’s MAGNOLIA. no movie has every stirred so much emotion and reaction in me than that one. however, i think a different and possibly more interesting question would be, “if you could pick only one film to watch for the rest of your life, what would it be?” i think i’d have to go with the coen’s NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. infinitely watchable.
THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP is my favorite. The ending, when we see our hero fall asleep and finally get his girl, although perhaps only in his dreams, literally took my breath away.
it would seem that most of p. t. anderson’s dvd’s have ample supplements, but i found that THERE WILL BE BLOOD was very lacking. I would love to see a criterion treatment of that. maybe convince daniel day lewis to read excperts of sinclair’s OIL!
re: Ryan -
I think i’m the other five ;) that was going to be my top pick there. Christopher Guest’s ALMOST HEROES, the final film of the late great chris farley. I think his best work here, and it’s funny every single viewing.
it seems most people who see MAGNOLIA just hate the goddam frogs and it destroys the experience for them. I love it.
Another one i love that most people can’t stand is jarmusch’s BROKEN FLOWERS. ’it’s just a movie about bill murray driving around.’ I think it’s brilliant.
redundantly, although not my intention, i’ll repeat with FIGHT CLUB. fincher was able to take an amazing book and tighten the screws, fill the holes, and just make it an altogether more enjoyable and interesting experience. not to knock palahniuk, he is my favorite author. i would love to see a director take a stab at RANT.
also, i’ve got to agree with NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. up to a very close point (the last few chapters specifically), the book and film are damn near identical, but i feel the film leaves a much stronger and lasting impression. i’ve actually written an essay comparing and contrasting the two at samuraipandapoetry.blogspot.com
i think this film is getting a bad rap as a ‘superhero’ movie. Batman, at least to me, is not a SUPERhero in the most common sense of the word. he’s a man without any profound super abilities. what DARK KNIGHT was above all is a moral thriller, a crime drama. just because there are masks involved or that it’s based from comic literature doesn’t make it a ‘super hero movie.’
i honestly feel that most people who don’t think this is a great film don’t like it purely for the hype it brought. usually when an action film like this gets hyped, you get a film like SPIDERMAN or SUPERMAN RETURNS, which are just dreadful. i try to pay no attention to hype, and what i was treated to was one of the single best performances i’ve seen, ever (which i also believe is being downplayed because of Ledger’s death). the film as a whole, i believe, will stand up in the annals of film history as a great film.
best film ever? of course not. best batman film ever? hell yes.
agreed, boo. posts with endless entries of lists of bands would be essence of tedium.
as for me, i’m also an instrumentalist, and somewhat of a composer. i pretty much just tinker around on Garage Band working on material that i would describe as broadway metal.
i’m very much with you when you say we need a new blueprint for music.
re: Ryan – i didn’t know you played the drums. you any good?
i wish i could have fell asleep when i saw GREASE for the first and last time, when it was re-released in theater’s several years back. i think the excruciating pain was what kept me awake.
re: Bobby Wise – i’m with you. there’s nothing i hate more than people LOLing. i was just trying to make double sure people wouldn’t take me seriously… although i think any mention of myspace here is definitely not taken seriously.
as a writer, i’m scared that in a decade or so the english language lexicon may include the corny internet chat shit, as it’s becoming so common place. i find it highly disrespectful to the language.
re: Ryan – right on. i know about Logic. the difference here is Garage Band came preloaded on my mac book, and i can’t afford to shell out for logic yet.
i also noticed the topic started hasn’t written anything else since he started the post. maybe he was indeed looking for lists of bands here. well, how about a short one of my favorites:
Poison The Well
Oh, Sleeper
Underoath
Bring Me The Horizon
just about anything off of Ferret Records….
it’s funny. for an atheist, i sure do like a lot of christian metal.
just finished G.W. Pabst’s PANDORA’S BOX, along with every bit of special feature the box set had to offer, with the exception of 2 of the 4 music scores.
it looks like there’s a lot of different rating scales here. i’ll stick with stars, and give it 5/5. the film is brilliant, and strikingly modern for 1929. I recommend watching it with the 2nd music score, the cabaret style, as it seems to fit and follow the film perfectly.
re: Boo -
i have yet to post any of my music yet, mainly because i’m one hell of a procrastinator, so none of it is quite finished. It’s difficult to record vocals in an apartment with thin walls. I’ll definitely keep you posted as soon as i do. I’ve got 3 pieces near completion and a slew of ideas ready to start.
love the miles davis story, too. i can echo that sentiment.
Magnolia tops my list of favorite films for several reasons. I can echo just about all of Tom’s sentiments that he started several months ago. For me the, this was the first film that touched me and moved me deeply, the first to show me what a movie is capable of as far as the connection between viewer and film goes. For that reason alone, i feel this film will always stand up as my favorite, no matter what era or what new thing that inspires me comes my way.
i love the pacing and the rhythm of the film. It’s got a flow i’ve yet to see beat. The music PTA uses to connect scenes and characters together is just amazing. I know i’m not the only one to be moved to tears as we see all the characters sing along to Aimee Mann’s saddest song.
As for being PTA’s best, i think There Will Be Blood is his most ambitious and accomplished, but Magnolia will always be on the top shelf for me personally.
I think Rashomon might not do it for some people for the same reason Citizen Cane might not do it for people. Putting it in context against the time period and it’s significance to the film world and Kurosawa’s career, it really shines. Even though it’s not in my top favorites, it may be one of my favorite Mifune performances.
Re: Adam Cook
I’m going to have to disagree with you on Shawshank Redemption. Although the film itself is great, the short Stephen King novella is far superior. The style it’s written in, as kind of a journal of the character Red, really doesn’t translate over to the film. I think it’s Stephen King’s best work, and is the reason I started to just loathe all the paranormal crap he cranks out over and over.
re: Wilky61 –
the ending of Drunken Angel was forced upon Kurosawa by the film censors in Japan. Had he been able to do the ending he wanted, the film may have gone on too long for your tastes. For me, the ending completely negated the impact of the film up to the final 2 or 3 minutes. You can actually feel the momentum coming to a crashing halt, and it really speaks loudly about the ineffectiveness of censorship.
as for being a Criterion junkie, i find i purchase more than i can find time to watch. Even now, i’ve got 10 or 15 in a stack waiting to view, and more on the way. If i find a killer deal on a title or find a used copy of one for cheap, i’ll blind buy. I even found an OOP copy of Robocop at a used/trade media place with a price tag of $21. i made sure to check that it was authentic. score.
I know a lot of people hated the final episode, but i thought it was perfect. It was actually the first full episode i ever saw, on it’s original air date last year, and it inspired me to go back and start watching the series. It was definitely the most enjoyable and satisfying television experience i’ve had.
hello. i’ve been here on the site for a few days now, and i guess i forgot to formally introduce myself.
my name is isaac, and i’m an aspiring critic, i suppose. i’ve got a blog dedicated to reviews and essay’s i write about movies, music and books i enjoy. you can check it out at samuraipandapoetry.blogspot.com
I think this site is great because it allows a venue for us total film geeks to actually be able to talk about film and have people care about it and respond positively. i can’t count how many times i’d go on a rant about a film and have my girlfriend roll her eyes or just stop paying attention altogether. now she’s scared she’s lost me to the website.
ditto on the Jaws. I think i’ve seen the ending on tv or something, but not the whole film.
for me though, i’ve never seen Casablanca. I’ve been meaning to for a long time, but have never gotten around to it. I could list a whole bunch of other ones i’d like to see but haven’t, but i feel that is the one i’ve been waiting to see the longest.
re: David !
- agreed on the Lower Depths. definitely underrated.
and the more i think about about it, Throne Of Blood is damn good. It was probably the first Kurosawa that i immediately had to watch again after i finished it for the first time. Mifune at the end, in his panicked fervor, it just doesn’t get much better than that.
re: Jashua W -
yes, sorry, Kane. I think my fingers got ahead of my brain on that one. Rosebud!
You really can’t get anywhere near Mifune. But i still have a special place in my heart for Nakadai. They’re definitely in two different realms, and each have their own appeal. Nakadai is just unforgettable in Sword Of Doom. And I didn’t even realize it was him until half way through Kill! (probably my favorite samurai action film).
but i’ll echo that sentiment, that Shimura paired up with Mifune creates such a great balance on screen.
I absolutely love the packaging of the new High And Low. There’s all these subtle little details that really make it stand out to me.
As for the best film, accompanied with the best special features to help appreciation of the film, I’m going to go with Brazil. I love the film, and there’s no commentary as entertaining as a Terry Gilliam commentary, and the inclusion of the edited for tv version is fascinating.
re: Michael
i’d like to echo your question, ‘what makes for an excellent film?’ when i approach a film, i try to stay objective, and take the film as it is, not constrained by any preconceived notions of genre or excellence i might have. This definitely applies to my appreciation of the Dark Knight. For what it is, a Comic-book based action moral thriller, it is top notch. Maybe the best such film i’ve seen (although i haven’t seen many comic movies since the disastrous Spiderman).
I think everyone has a different definition of “trashy” when it comes to film. For me, it’s the campy romance movies. The chick flicks. Talk about preposterous plots. On occasion there are a few that stand out, but i still steer clear.
Another category that people might find trashy (i used to, actually), is the campy sci-fi horror flicks from yesteryear. I love them now, and just relish how delightfully “trashy” they are.
I really have nothing more to contribute to this post, other than now i think i need to go see Soderbergh’s treatment of the film. I’m a huge fan of the Lem novel, and actually have a large tattoo based on a section of the book, and I quite enjoyed Tarkovsky’s treatment of the material. I always felt he had the upper hand here, being a Russian like Lem. I had only heard negative things about Soderbergh’s treatment so had steered clear, but now it would seem it’s worth a viewing.
If you had to pick ONE film as your favorite... over 3 years ago
I always tell people my favorite film is p. t. anderson’s MAGNOLIA. no movie has every stirred so much emotion and reaction in me than that one. however, i think a different and possibly more interesting question would be, “if you could pick only one film to watch for the rest of your life, what would it be?” i think i’d have to go with the coen’s NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. infinitely watchable.
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Movies That Should Be In the Criterion Collection over 3 years ago
Terry Gilliam’s THE FISHER KING and TIDELAND.
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Your Favorite Michel Gondry Film? over 3 years ago
THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP is my favorite. The ending, when we see our hero fall asleep and finally get his girl, although perhaps only in his dreams, literally took my breath away.
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What was the first Criterion movie you watched? over 3 years ago
wes anderson’s THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS. not only the first criterion i ever saw, but first dvd i ever purchased, and started my deep love for film.
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WHICH DIRECTORS...NOT...CURRENTLY REPRESENTED IN THE CRITERION COLLECTION DO YOU WANT TO SEE INCLUDED? over 3 years ago
paul thomas anderson tops my list. john carpenter would be cool too, especially the thing. i love that movie.
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WHICH DIRECTORS...NOT...CURRENTLY REPRESENTED IN THE CRITERION COLLECTION DO YOU WANT TO SEE INCLUDED? over 3 years ago
re: RYAN
it would seem that most of p. t. anderson’s dvd’s have ample supplements, but i found that THERE WILL BE BLOOD was very lacking. I would love to see a criterion treatment of that. maybe convince daniel day lewis to read excperts of sinclair’s OIL!
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Films you love but most people hate. over 3 years ago
re: Ryan -
I think i’m the other five ;) that was going to be my top pick there. Christopher Guest’s ALMOST HEROES, the final film of the late great chris farley. I think his best work here, and it’s funny every single viewing.
it seems most people who see MAGNOLIA just hate the goddam frogs and it destroys the experience for them. I love it.
Another one i love that most people can’t stand is jarmusch’s BROKEN FLOWERS. ’it’s just a movie about bill murray driving around.’ I think it’s brilliant.
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Favorite films that Clint Eastwood stars in or directs. over 3 years ago
i’m more of a fan of director clint eastwood than actor clint eastwood. my favorite so far has got to be MYSTIC RIVER.
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Films that are better than the books that they are are based on over 3 years ago
redundantly, although not my intention, i’ll repeat with FIGHT CLUB. fincher was able to take an amazing book and tighten the screws, fill the holes, and just make it an altogether more enjoyable and interesting experience. not to knock palahniuk, he is my favorite author. i would love to see a director take a stab at RANT.
also, i’ve got to agree with NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. up to a very close point (the last few chapters specifically), the book and film are damn near identical, but i feel the film leaves a much stronger and lasting impression. i’ve actually written an essay comparing and contrasting the two at samuraipandapoetry.blogspot.com
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Anybody else hate the Dark Knight? over 3 years ago
i think this film is getting a bad rap as a ‘superhero’ movie. Batman, at least to me, is not a SUPERhero in the most common sense of the word. he’s a man without any profound super abilities. what DARK KNIGHT was above all is a moral thriller, a crime drama. just because there are masks involved or that it’s based from comic literature doesn’t make it a ‘super hero movie.’
i honestly feel that most people who don’t think this is a great film don’t like it purely for the hype it brought. usually when an action film like this gets hyped, you get a film like SPIDERMAN or SUPERMAN RETURNS, which are just dreadful. i try to pay no attention to hype, and what i was treated to was one of the single best performances i’ve seen, ever (which i also believe is being downplayed because of Ledger’s death). the film as a whole, i believe, will stand up in the annals of film history as a great film.
best film ever? of course not. best batman film ever? hell yes.
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Back in the 1990's over 3 years ago
re: Ryan
i think everyone who’s here is stoked to have a place for meaningful discussion of film. lord knows i am.
on second thought, maybe i’ll troll back to myspace and give mad props and woot woot’s to pre-teens who think Juno is the epitome of film…
why isn’t there an emoticon for sarcasm yet?
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thread where we talk about music over 3 years ago
agreed, boo. posts with endless entries of lists of bands would be essence of tedium.
as for me, i’m also an instrumentalist, and somewhat of a composer. i pretty much just tinker around on Garage Band working on material that i would describe as broadway metal.
i’m very much with you when you say we need a new blueprint for music.
re: Ryan – i didn’t know you played the drums. you any good?
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MOMENT OF TRUTH: HAVE YOU EVER GONE TO THE MOVIES AND FALLEN ASLEEP DURING THE FILM? over 3 years ago
i wish i could have fell asleep when i saw GREASE for the first and last time, when it was re-released in theater’s several years back. i think the excruciating pain was what kept me awake.
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Back in the 1990's over 3 years ago
re: Bobby Wise – i’m with you. there’s nothing i hate more than people LOLing. i was just trying to make double sure people wouldn’t take me seriously… although i think any mention of myspace here is definitely not taken seriously.
as a writer, i’m scared that in a decade or so the english language lexicon may include the corny internet chat shit, as it’s becoming so common place. i find it highly disrespectful to the language.
re: Ryan – jesus, man. frightening, isn’t it?
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thread where we talk about music over 3 years ago
re: Ryan – right on. i know about Logic. the difference here is Garage Band came preloaded on my mac book, and i can’t afford to shell out for logic yet.
i also noticed the topic started hasn’t written anything else since he started the post. maybe he was indeed looking for lists of bands here. well, how about a short one of my favorites:
Poison The Well
Oh, Sleeper
Underoath
Bring Me The Horizon
just about anything off of Ferret Records….
it’s funny. for an atheist, i sure do like a lot of christian metal.
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Rate The Last Film You Watched over 3 years ago
just finished G.W. Pabst’s PANDORA’S BOX, along with every bit of special feature the box set had to offer, with the exception of 2 of the 4 music scores.
it looks like there’s a lot of different rating scales here. i’ll stick with stars, and give it 5/5. the film is brilliant, and strikingly modern for 1929. I recommend watching it with the 2nd music score, the cabaret style, as it seems to fit and follow the film perfectly.
Go to Comment
thread where we talk about music over 3 years ago
re: Boo -
i have yet to post any of my music yet, mainly because i’m one hell of a procrastinator, so none of it is quite finished. It’s difficult to record vocals in an apartment with thin walls. I’ll definitely keep you posted as soon as i do. I’ve got 3 pieces near completion and a slew of ideas ready to start.
love the miles davis story, too. i can echo that sentiment.
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Favorite Kurosawa flicks? over 3 years ago
Yes, i think Kagemusha is underrated.
here’s my list –
1) Hidden Fortress
2) Ran
3) High and Low
4) Kagemusha
5) Yojimbo.
6) Everything else he’s done.
It’s incredibly difficult to pick favorites here. I love them all.
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Can we talk about "Magnolia" for a bit? over 3 years ago
Magnolia tops my list of favorite films for several reasons. I can echo just about all of Tom’s sentiments that he started several months ago. For me the, this was the first film that touched me and moved me deeply, the first to show me what a movie is capable of as far as the connection between viewer and film goes. For that reason alone, i feel this film will always stand up as my favorite, no matter what era or what new thing that inspires me comes my way.
i love the pacing and the rhythm of the film. It’s got a flow i’ve yet to see beat. The music PTA uses to connect scenes and characters together is just amazing. I know i’m not the only one to be moved to tears as we see all the characters sing along to Aimee Mann’s saddest song.
As for being PTA’s best, i think There Will Be Blood is his most ambitious and accomplished, but Magnolia will always be on the top shelf for me personally.
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Favorite Kurosawa flicks? over 3 years ago
I think Rashomon might not do it for some people for the same reason Citizen Cane might not do it for people. Putting it in context against the time period and it’s significance to the film world and Kurosawa’s career, it really shines. Even though it’s not in my top favorites, it may be one of my favorite Mifune performances.
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Films that are better than the books that they are are based on over 3 years ago
Re: Adam Cook
I’m going to have to disagree with you on Shawshank Redemption. Although the film itself is great, the short Stephen King novella is far superior. The style it’s written in, as kind of a journal of the character Red, really doesn’t translate over to the film. I think it’s Stephen King’s best work, and is the reason I started to just loathe all the paranormal crap he cranks out over and over.
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Criterion junkies here? over 3 years ago
re: Wilky61 –
the ending of Drunken Angel was forced upon Kurosawa by the film censors in Japan. Had he been able to do the ending he wanted, the film may have gone on too long for your tastes. For me, the ending completely negated the impact of the film up to the final 2 or 3 minutes. You can actually feel the momentum coming to a crashing halt, and it really speaks loudly about the ineffectiveness of censorship.
as for being a Criterion junkie, i find i purchase more than i can find time to watch. Even now, i’ve got 10 or 15 in a stack waiting to view, and more on the way. If i find a killer deal on a title or find a used copy of one for cheap, i’ll blind buy. I even found an OOP copy of Robocop at a used/trade media place with a price tag of $21. i made sure to check that it was authentic. score.
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TV SHOWS over 3 years ago
Sopranos.
I know a lot of people hated the final episode, but i thought it was perfect. It was actually the first full episode i ever saw, on it’s original air date last year, and it inspired me to go back and start watching the series. It was definitely the most enjoyable and satisfying television experience i’ve had.
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New to The Auteurs? You Belong Here over 3 years ago
hello. i’ve been here on the site for a few days now, and i guess i forgot to formally introduce myself.
my name is isaac, and i’m an aspiring critic, i suppose. i’ve got a blog dedicated to reviews and essay’s i write about movies, music and books i enjoy. you can check it out at samuraipandapoetry.blogspot.com
I think this site is great because it allows a venue for us total film geeks to actually be able to talk about film and have people care about it and respond positively. i can’t count how many times i’d go on a rant about a film and have my girlfriend roll her eyes or just stop paying attention altogether. now she’s scared she’s lost me to the website.
Go to Comment
CONFESSIONS--FILMS YOU ARE ASHAMED TO SAY YOU HAVE NOT SEEN (YET) over 3 years ago
ditto on the Jaws. I think i’ve seen the ending on tv or something, but not the whole film.
for me though, i’ve never seen Casablanca. I’ve been meaning to for a long time, but have never gotten around to it. I could list a whole bunch of other ones i’d like to see but haven’t, but i feel that is the one i’ve been waiting to see the longest.
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Favorite Kurosawa flicks? over 3 years ago
re: David !
- agreed on the Lower Depths. definitely underrated.
and the more i think about about it, Throne Of Blood is damn good. It was probably the first Kurosawa that i immediately had to watch again after i finished it for the first time. Mifune at the end, in his panicked fervor, it just doesn’t get much better than that.
re: Jashua W -
yes, sorry, Kane. I think my fingers got ahead of my brain on that one. Rosebud!
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Favorite Kurosawa lead actor? over 3 years ago
You really can’t get anywhere near Mifune. But i still have a special place in my heart for Nakadai. They’re definitely in two different realms, and each have their own appeal. Nakadai is just unforgettable in Sword Of Doom. And I didn’t even realize it was him until half way through Kill! (probably my favorite samurai action film).
but i’ll echo that sentiment, that Shimura paired up with Mifune creates such a great balance on screen.
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Best Criterion? over 3 years ago
I absolutely love the packaging of the new High And Low. There’s all these subtle little details that really make it stand out to me.
As for the best film, accompanied with the best special features to help appreciation of the film, I’m going to go with Brazil. I love the film, and there’s no commentary as entertaining as a Terry Gilliam commentary, and the inclusion of the edited for tv version is fascinating.
Go to Comment
Anybody else hate the Dark Knight? over 3 years ago
re: Michael
i’d like to echo your question, ‘what makes for an excellent film?’ when i approach a film, i try to stay objective, and take the film as it is, not constrained by any preconceived notions of genre or excellence i might have. This definitely applies to my appreciation of the Dark Knight. For what it is, a Comic-book based action moral thriller, it is top notch. Maybe the best such film i’ve seen (although i haven’t seen many comic movies since the disastrous Spiderman).
I think everyone has a different definition of “trashy” when it comes to film. For me, it’s the campy romance movies. The chick flicks. Talk about preposterous plots. On occasion there are a few that stand out, but i still steer clear.
Another category that people might find trashy (i used to, actually), is the campy sci-fi horror flicks from yesteryear. I love them now, and just relish how delightfully “trashy” they are.
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Solaris over 3 years ago
I really have nothing more to contribute to this post, other than now i think i need to go see Soderbergh’s treatment of the film. I’m a huge fan of the Lem novel, and actually have a large tattoo based on a section of the book, and I quite enjoyed Tarkovsky’s treatment of the material. I always felt he had the upper hand here, being a Russian like Lem. I had only heard negative things about Soderbergh’s treatment so had steered clear, but now it would seem it’s worth a viewing.
Go to Comment