5. “Wall-E”
- A film where pretty much nothing happens.
4. “Dungeon Siege: A Knight’s Tale”
- We came so close to voting away Uwe Boll’s career. What happened? See this and you’ll feel compelled to vote.
3. “The Haunting of Molly Hartley”
- Yeah, there are a lot of dumb horror flicks. This one was the dumbest.
2. “A Girl Cut in Two”
- So pretentious. So miserable. So… French…
1. “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas”
- Moronic, manipulative and oh-so trendy. This is the nadir of Nazi-Holocaust fetishization.
A total screw job meant to make dummies cry that was an ideological and aesthetic failure. If you like this then you are a bad person.
Anyone else think the films of Todd Field deserve a chance?
- Little Children from ‘06
Gorgeous suburbanite melodrama, but not quite outdone by:
- In the Bedroom from ’01
Field has the making of stylish Cassavetes. He’s got the domesticity and the drama to a T. And he’s the right kind of obscure for Criterion.
Any ideas for underseen, awesome horror films that deserve the Criterion treatment? Either because they’re obscure, or you think they deserve the deluxe treatment. Criterion’s got “Eyes Without a Face” and “Silence of the Lambs” which is great. But there could be a little more. Preferably no Asian torture porn? Or torture porn if you like.
Here are few ideas:
“Motel Hell” (way forgotten, and cooler if the remake’s on the way)
“Cat People” (yeah, it’s a classic, but man does it deserve like an hour long doc on either the themes, photography of Val Lewton)
“House on the Edge of the Park” (dirty, dirty little Italian produced flick)
“Basket Case” (just amazing in its absurd premise and poor 1980’s decisions)
“Night of the Hunter” (yeah, it’s more of a drama/thriller, but the MGM DVD feels so outdated, and this needs to regain a fresh audience out silly film classes. It’s just that scary)
So, it’s the 25th anniversary of the Ghostbusters. The third might start filming this fall. And Entertainment Weekly was rated the best comedy of the last 25 years. Science versus faith people!
But here’s my request: A special 2, maybe 3 disc edition for this year, on the Criterion.
Now, I know there was a laserdisc.
And I know that there’s a supposed Blu-Ray edition from Sony on the way.
But think about it. It’d be the commerce piece to wipe “Armageddon” away as Criterion’s punch-line popcorn piece. The Busters would totally be legit. Imagine the design on the disc alone!
So, slim has it that Criterion is going to release a Criterion of Brad Pitt’s pensive, sepia-toned opus?
OK. Royal Tenenbaums, fine. Anderson’s a creative.
Armageddon, fine. It’s too ironic to pick on.
But Benjamin Button? David Fincher? Paramount’s Golden cow from 2008? This film was neither good art nor commercial satisfaction. It was a bad Forrest Gump. Any takers?
Or should the smoke blowing out of me go backwards?
It’s that time again. My team won tonight – phew – and in honor of the athletic spirit, I want to start watching some sports films again.
I just recently watched “This Sporting Life” and “Hoop Dreams” – both rad addition to the CC – and I started to think about films that could/should get the Criterion treatment. Yes, like comic flicks or horror films, the sports genre has its own stigmas. Stupid Disney company and their commodification of the formula…
But anyways, these are some of my favorite sports films, totally deserving of deluxe treatment. Ignoring boxing films and Kevin Costner:
- Olympia (Riefenstahl had a beautiful eye for physicality … even if it was fascist aesthetic)
- Breaking Away (Fuck Rocky. I’m midwestern, and this movie gets me every time)
- The Endless Summer (Catch a wave dudes)
And favorites that don’t exactly need special treatment, but I love ’em anyways:
- Slap Shot
- The Bad News Bears
- Grand Prix
- Somebody Up There Likes Me
- The Set Up
- Remember the Titans (Shut up. It’s a part of growing up folks)
But if they need the money, then why not put out for a “Slumdog” disc with docs on Hindi films, or “Milk” with a second disc for the 1980s documentary?
Anyone see the fantastic list this morning at the bottom of the imdb about authors that hated their big screen adaptations?
It was on the A/V club. http://www.avclub.com/articles/put-the-book-back-on-the-shelf-13-booktofilm-adapt,28405/
Shame about Hemingway and King.
Anyhoo, dig these:
On Directing Film by Mamet – even as a professional, he’s got a voice
Scorsese on Scorsese – I love that spaz
The Other Hollywood by Legs MacNeil – Oral History of the Porn Industry, kinda awesome
Blue Movie by Terry Southern – The funniest, dirtiest satire on Hollwood ever, where a hypotheical Bergman or Kubrick is challenged to make a high art porno
Awake in the Dark by Roger Ebert – Criticism can be made to be accessible
The aforementioned Cassavetes book – That guy was hot
The Studio by John Gregory Dunne – I wanna be a producer
Hit and Run by Nancy Griffin – Idiot or not, Jon Peters makes for great reading
My older brother took me at age 3/4. I romanticize it very heavily for some reason. The film’s depiction of hell scared the hell outta me. But who I knew I’d still appreciated the Seventh Seal nod.
We talking freeze frame? Or a single shot? I guess I can go with both?
FF: “400 Blows” so obvious, yet for such obvious reasons. An entire youth caught in a moment.
SS: At the end of “Breaking Away,” there’s this momentous shot that just follows the lead in his final laps of his bicycle race, and it gets so much more out of you than you’d expect. Highly exciting, casually framed. Nascar does the same, but much worse.
Two recent films, that I caught plenty of heat for, included:
“Everlasting Moments” by Troell. It was just a Lifetime movie, dressed up in Swedish.
And “A Girl Cut in Two” by Chabrol. Admittedly, I haven’t seen Chabrol’s films, and I want to. But, this movie was like the sub-porn titilation that George Michael dug in “Arrested Development.”
Jeebus. Can we turn this into a discussion on out-of-print Criterions?
Also, I went apeshit on my brother-in-law this weekend, because I had gotten him the Blu-Ray for Christmas, as he had requested, and he was using it as a change coaster. The movie is waaaay too good for that! I dunno, am I the only anal retentive weirdo when it comes to DVD collecting and organization? Of course not. This is the Auteurs…
Speaking of out of print: quite literally yesterday, I somehow found a copy of John Woo’s “Hard Boiled” at my used book store. The kicker? It was in clearance for $3.00! How does that happen?
The Worst Films of 2008 over 3 years ago
Try these out:
5. “Wall-E”
- A film where pretty much nothing happens.
4. “Dungeon Siege: A Knight’s Tale”
- We came so close to voting away Uwe Boll’s career. What happened? See this and you’ll feel compelled to vote.
3. “The Haunting of Molly Hartley”
- Yeah, there are a lot of dumb horror flicks. This one was the dumbest.
2. “A Girl Cut in Two”
- So pretentious. So miserable. So… French…
1. “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas”
- Moronic, manipulative and oh-so trendy. This is the nadir of Nazi-Holocaust fetishization.
A total screw job meant to make dummies cry that was an ideological and aesthetic failure. If you like this then you are a bad person.
Go to Comment
WHICH MOVIES...PUT OUT IN LAST 5 YEARS...DO YOU THINK WILL ONE DAY JOIN THE CRITERION COLLECTION? over 3 years ago
Anyone else think the films of Todd Field deserve a chance?
- Little Children from ‘06
Gorgeous suburbanite melodrama, but not quite outdone by:
- In the Bedroom from ’01
Field has the making of stylish Cassavetes. He’s got the domesticity and the drama to a T. And he’s the right kind of obscure for Criterion.
Go to Comment
Howzabout Some Horror on Criterion? over 3 years ago
Any ideas for underseen, awesome horror films that deserve the Criterion treatment? Either because they’re obscure, or you think they deserve the deluxe treatment. Criterion’s got “Eyes Without a Face” and “Silence of the Lambs” which is great. But there could be a little more. Preferably no Asian torture porn? Or torture porn if you like.
Here are few ideas:
“Motel Hell” (way forgotten, and cooler if the remake’s on the way)
“Cat People” (yeah, it’s a classic, but man does it deserve like an hour long doc on either the themes, photography of Val Lewton)
“House on the Edge of the Park” (dirty, dirty little Italian produced flick)
“Basket Case” (just amazing in its absurd premise and poor 1980’s decisions)
“Night of the Hunter” (yeah, it’s more of a drama/thriller, but the MGM DVD feels so outdated, and this needs to regain a fresh audience out silly film classes. It’s just that scary)
Other ideas?
Go to Comment
Ghostbusters Criterion? Hear Me Out. over 3 years ago
So, it’s the 25th anniversary of the Ghostbusters. The third might start filming this fall. And Entertainment Weekly was rated the best comedy of the last 25 years. Science versus faith people!
But here’s my request: A special 2, maybe 3 disc edition for this year, on the Criterion.
Now, I know there was a laserdisc.
And I know that there’s a supposed Blu-Ray edition from Sony on the way.
But think about it. It’d be the commerce piece to wipe “Armageddon” away as Criterion’s punch-line popcorn piece. The Busters would totally be legit. Imagine the design on the disc alone!
Any takers?
Go to Comment
Oscar snubs that piss you off... over 3 years ago
Howzabout this year?:
No script or direction for Dark Knight?
No writing for Rachel Getting Married or Synechdoche?
No foreign film for Let the Right One In?
No supporting actor for Dev Patel?
Help me here folks.
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Oscar snubs that piss you off... over 3 years ago
Did someone say “stature in the world of film?”
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What's the greatest Western? over 3 years ago
My Name is Nobody! with Terence Hill!
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Benjamin Button!?!? What the Hell? about 3 years ago
http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/03/19/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button-on-criterion/#more-22767
So, slim has it that Criterion is going to release a Criterion of Brad Pitt’s pensive, sepia-toned opus?
OK. Royal Tenenbaums, fine. Anderson’s a creative.
Armageddon, fine. It’s too ironic to pick on.
But Benjamin Button? David Fincher? Paramount’s Golden cow from 2008? This film was neither good art nor commercial satisfaction. It was a bad Forrest Gump. Any takers?
Or should the smoke blowing out of me go backwards?
Go to Comment
SPORTS MOVIES. In honor of March Madness. about 3 years ago
It’s that time again. My team won tonight – phew – and in honor of the athletic spirit, I want to start watching some sports films again.
I just recently watched “This Sporting Life” and “Hoop Dreams” – both rad addition to the CC – and I started to think about films that could/should get the Criterion treatment. Yes, like comic flicks or horror films, the sports genre has its own stigmas. Stupid Disney company and their commodification of the formula…
But anyways, these are some of my favorite sports films, totally deserving of deluxe treatment. Ignoring boxing films and Kevin Costner:
- Olympia (Riefenstahl had a beautiful eye for physicality … even if it was fascist aesthetic)
- Breaking Away (Fuck Rocky. I’m midwestern, and this movie gets me every time)
- The Endless Summer (Catch a wave dudes)
And favorites that don’t exactly need special treatment, but I love ’em anyways:
- Slap Shot
- The Bad News Bears
- Grand Prix
- Somebody Up There Likes Me
- The Set Up
- Remember the Titans (Shut up. It’s a part of growing up folks)
Any other suggestions?
Besides Costner movies…
Go to Comment
Benjamin Button!?!? What the Hell? about 3 years ago
But if they need the money, then why not put out for a “Slumdog” disc with docs on Hindi films, or “Milk” with a second disc for the 1980s documentary?
Go to Comment
SPORTS MOVIES. In honor of March Madness. about 3 years ago
Go Blue.
Oh, and I forgot The Hustler.
Go to Comment
Great Books on Film about 3 years ago
Anyone see the fantastic list this morning at the bottom of the imdb about authors that hated their big screen adaptations?
It was on the A/V club. http://www.avclub.com/articles/put-the-book-back-on-the-shelf-13-booktofilm-adapt,28405/
Shame about Hemingway and King.
Anyhoo, dig these:
On Directing Film by Mamet – even as a professional, he’s got a voice
Scorsese on Scorsese – I love that spaz
The Other Hollywood by Legs MacNeil – Oral History of the Porn Industry, kinda awesome
Blue Movie by Terry Southern – The funniest, dirtiest satire on Hollwood ever, where a hypotheical Bergman or Kubrick is challenged to make a high art porno
Awake in the Dark by Roger Ebert – Criticism can be made to be accessible
The aforementioned Cassavetes book – That guy was hot
The Studio by John Gregory Dunne – I wanna be a producer
Hit and Run by Nancy Griffin – Idiot or not, Jon Peters makes for great reading
Go to Comment
Age / Level of education? (An informal poll) about 3 years ago
22, BFA in Art & Design at the University of Michigan
Shit lot of good that one did me at my editing and column jobs.
Hey! An art student flake like me, above me!
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First Film you can remember seeing at the movies almost 3 years ago
Bummer dudes.
Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey.
My older brother took me at age 3/4. I romanticize it very heavily for some reason. The film’s depiction of hell scared the hell outta me. But who I knew I’d still appreciated the Seventh Seal nod.
Go to Comment
What is your favorite ending? almost 3 years ago
Well, nobody’s perfect.
Go to Comment
Still Image almost 3 years ago
We talking freeze frame? Or a single shot? I guess I can go with both?
FF: “400 Blows” so obvious, yet for such obvious reasons. An entire youth caught in a moment.
SS: At the end of “Breaking Away,” there’s this momentous shot that just follows the lead in his final laps of his bicycle race, and it gets so much more out of you than you’d expect. Highly exciting, casually framed. Nascar does the same, but much worse.
Go to Comment
Cool titles for new Auteurs threads... almost 3 years ago
“First movie where you got an HJ in the popcorn?”
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ESSENTIAL ART HOUSE: Me Being Shameless... almost 3 years ago
Howdy pardiners.
So, uh, I got really bored earlier this week, and as a goof with some art school buddies o’ mine, I made these:
http://blakegoble.blogspot.com/2009/06/im-back-with-classy-movies.html
I bought vol. 2 over the weekend, which provoked this. And no, I’m not a 16yo IMDB poster. Just thought these might be dug here.
- B
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Robert Wise almost 3 years ago
Wait, didn’t he make “Star Trek?” Like zoinks man!
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Art-House films people give you "shit" for not liking almost 3 years ago
Two recent films, that I caught plenty of heat for, included:
“Everlasting Moments” by Troell. It was just a Lifetime movie, dressed up in Swedish.
And “A Girl Cut in Two” by Chabrol. Admittedly, I haven’t seen Chabrol’s films, and I want to. But, this movie was like the sub-porn titilation that George Michael dug in “Arrested Development.”
Go to Comment
Top Five Action Films and Why almost 3 years ago
“Goldfinger” – Bond. ’Nuff said.
“Gunga Din” – I’d consider this like a blueprint for the modern adventure/spectacle flick. Like “Raiders,” but not postmodern. Just modern.
“The Dark Knight” – A total artwork, it’s like German opera, with splendid car chases.
“The Adventures of Robin Hood” – Again, a superb adventure. And the sword fights with Errol Flynn? Not quite ironic like Orlando Bloom.
“Terminator 2/True Lies” – I don’t have to obey the rules. These are the peak of Cameron’s macho extravagence. Harriers, T-1000’s, and all.
Honor Roll: “Die Hard with a Vengeance” “Get Carter” w/Caine, “The Blues Brothers” w/car chase, “Stagecoach” w/Wayne, “Master and Commander” “Raiders”
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Thoughts on 'Black Orpheus'? almost 3 years ago
I was wondering if anyone knew where to find the soundtrack for this movie’s slam-a-lam-a-ding-dong awesome music?
Any ideas?
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The Action/Adventure Thread over 2 years ago
You forgot Gunga Din!
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THIRD MAN OUT OF PRINT over 2 years ago
Jeebus. Can we turn this into a discussion on out-of-print Criterions?
Also, I went apeshit on my brother-in-law this weekend, because I had gotten him the Blu-Ray for Christmas, as he had requested, and he was using it as a change coaster. The movie is waaaay too good for that! I dunno, am I the only anal retentive weirdo when it comes to DVD collecting and organization? Of course not. This is the Auteurs…
Speaking of out of print: quite literally yesterday, I somehow found a copy of John Woo’s “Hard Boiled” at my used book store. The kicker? It was in clearance for $3.00! How does that happen?
Go to Comment
What makes Political Films Endure or Expire? over 2 years ago
Made by Otto Preminger – It will endure.
Made by Aaron Sorkin – It will expire.
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The Auteurs' Fake Criterion Covers over 2 years ago
Cogratulations on the Article.
I did these several months ago. And it’s all part of the Criterion ouvre right?
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The Auteurs' Fake Criterion Covers over 2 years ago
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The Auteurs' Fake Criterion Covers over 2 years ago
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The Auteurs' Fake Criterion Covers over 2 years ago
Anyone try to do “Essential Art House” Criterions?
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The Auteurs' Fake Criterion Covers over 2 years ago
Thank you Andres. Looking nice. Looking affordable.
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