Heat is phenomenal. My favorite film. If nothing else it’s one of the best exercises in genre film making. The rest of Mann’s work is made interesting by that virtue alone. None of it’s particularly great though. Thief really has its moments, but other than that…
The two stick up scenes in Un Flic are mesmerizing. Delon stealing the car at 3 minutes and 42 seconds into Le Samourai might possibly be the best bit of crime committed to film. Still, Army of Shadows is the master work.
I don’t like Breathless (Contempt and A Band of Outsiders finally endeared me to Godard though).
Pulp Fiction is kind of boring.
Ditto for the Lord of the Rings.
My love for Star Wars ended at 12, and no one wants to let me forget how awful I am for this.
Korine is polarizing, and I’d like to see what kind of range of opinion is present on this forum toward his work.
Korine, for me, is personally problematic. Not love/hate. More of an enthralled/repulsed sort of thing. His work is strong considering his youth. His screen writing on KIDS easily produced some of the most naturalistic dialogue of the last decade. And it can’t be denied he makes images that aren’t easily removed from the mind. What repulses me about his work is hard for me to articulate. I think it’s that his humanist touches never quite compensate for some of the human ugliness he puts on screen.
I think the only moving image I’ve seen that “shook me to the core,” was during the end of Hearts and Minds, when the mother of the ARVN soldier tries to fall into the grave with her son in order to be buried alive. The cut to Westmorland sealed the deal. It’s a painful image to take with you. It’s the only filmic “scar,” i have.
I’ve purchased pirated films without R1 releases. They were films I wanted to see, so I went out of my way to make it happen.. If one director/producer/studio/best boy misses $0.02 on a royalty check that’s never coming because the film’s only available on a CD-R from Taiwan so be it. I have no guilt, because movies are meant to be seen. I’ve purchased/rented enough DVDs and have paid $9 for a theater ticket enough times to make up for it in the aggregate.
Michael Mann over 3 years ago
Heat is phenomenal. My favorite film. If nothing else it’s one of the best exercises in genre film making. The rest of Mann’s work is made interesting by that virtue alone. None of it’s particularly great though. Thief really has its moments, but other than that…
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Who do you think the most overrated director is? over 3 years ago
Tarantino. Godard did Godard better.
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What's your favorite Jean-Pierre Melville film? over 3 years ago
The two stick up scenes in Un Flic are mesmerizing. Delon stealing the car at 3 minutes and 42 seconds into Le Samourai might possibly be the best bit of crime committed to film. Still, Army of Shadows is the master work.
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What films do you always catch shit for for not liking? over 3 years ago
I don’t like Breathless (Contempt and A Band of Outsiders finally endeared me to Godard though).
Pulp Fiction is kind of boring.
Ditto for the Lord of the Rings.
My love for Star Wars ended at 12, and no one wants to let me forget how awful I am for this.
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Who do you think had it and lost it? When? and Why? over 3 years ago
I second: Errol Morris, really?
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Your Favorite Godard Film? over 3 years ago
Contempt is CINEMA (in all caps).
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The most beautiful films? over 3 years ago
“Contempt is CINEMA (in all caps).”
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Harmony Korine over 3 years ago
Korine is polarizing, and I’d like to see what kind of range of opinion is present on this forum toward his work.
Korine, for me, is personally problematic. Not love/hate. More of an enthralled/repulsed sort of thing. His work is strong considering his youth. His screen writing on KIDS easily produced some of the most naturalistic dialogue of the last decade. And it can’t be denied he makes images that aren’t easily removed from the mind. What repulses me about his work is hard for me to articulate. I think it’s that his humanist touches never quite compensate for some of the human ugliness he puts on screen.
Go to Comment
movies that shake you to the core over 3 years ago
I think the only moving image I’ve seen that “shook me to the core,” was during the end of Hearts and Minds, when the mother of the ARVN soldier tries to fall into the grave with her son in order to be buried alive. The cut to Westmorland sealed the deal. It’s a painful image to take with you. It’s the only filmic “scar,” i have.
Go to Comment
Is buying pirated DVDs justified - due to state censorship? cost of original DVDs? love of films? over 3 years ago
I’ve purchased pirated films without R1 releases. They were films I wanted to see, so I went out of my way to make it happen.. If one director/producer/studio/best boy misses $0.02 on a royalty check that’s never coming because the film’s only available on a CD-R from Taiwan so be it. I have no guilt, because movies are meant to be seen. I’ve purchased/rented enough DVDs and have paid $9 for a theater ticket enough times to make up for it in the aggregate.
Go to Comment