The difference in the image quality is astonishing. It doesn’t look like it was shot on VHS now!
The original poster was upfront about it, so it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t mention that Mr. Reese and myself are good friends and have been for years, but bias aside, this is a pretty slick DVD transfer, particularly when compared to the horrendous image quality of the YouTube upload. Well done, Dougie!
I don’t have my review anymore, but I remember giving it a B-. It’s possible that seeing the film the way it was intended to be seen will cause my score to rise.
This is devastating. I need to become more familiar with his filmography, but True Romance is an exceptional film. Movies don’t come more purely enjoyable than that.
I’m not expecting anything worthy of awards, but based on the trailers I’ve seen, it should be rather fun. I’m looking forward to it regardless of who the director is.
The Expendables (2010, Sylvester Stallone). B. I have a weakness for dumb action movies, and this one delivered the blood-soaked goods. At one point in the film, Stallone’s character slashes off one guy’s arm, decapitates another guy, and stabs another guy through the throat, all in one swing of his knife. There is definitely a layer of humor in the movie, and it never takes itself too seriously while avoiding outright self-mockery. It has a fun, loose feel to it and its 104 minute runtime goes by very quickly. I wasn’t expecting to see a great performance in this film, but Mickey Rourke has a sincere, poignant monologue about watching a woman commit suicide in Bosnia. It feels completely out of place, but in a good way. Overall, I was impressed, and I’ll be seeing the sequel.
I actually went to watch The Expendables 2 last night before having seen the first film, because I need to review it for my website, but the projector was broken, so I got a refund and a free movie pass. Can’t complain.
The Expendables (2010, Sylvester Stallone). B. I have a weakness for dumb action movies, and this one delivered the blood-soaked goods. At one point in the film, Stallone’s character slashes off one guy’s arm, decapitates another guy, and stabs another guy through the throat, all in one swing of his knife. There is definitely a layer of humor in the movie, and it never takes itself too seriously while avoiding outright self-mockery. It has a fun, loose feel to it and its 104 minute runtime goes by very quickly. I wasn’t expecting to see a great performance in this film, but Mickey Rourke has a sincere, poignant monologue about watching a woman commit suicide in Bosnia. It feels completely out of place, but in a good way. Overall, I was impressed, and I’ll be seeing the sequel.
I actually went to watch The Expendables 2 last night before having seen the first film, because I need to review it for my website, but the projector was broken, so I got a refund and a free movie pass. Can’t complain.
The Expendables (2010, Sylvester Stallone). B. I have a weakness for dumb action movies, and this one delivered the blood-soaked goods. At one point in the film, Stallone’s character slashes off one guy’s arm, decapitates another guy, and stabs another guy through the throat, all in one swing of his knife. There is definitely a layer of humor in the movie, and it never takes itself too seriously while avoiding outright self-mockery. It has a fun, loose feel to it and its 104 minute runtime goes by very quickly. I wasn’t expecting to see a great performance in this film, but Mickey Rourke has a sincere, poignant monologue about watching a woman commit suicide in Bosnia. It feels completely out of place, but in a good way. Overall, I was impressed, and I’ll be seeing the sequel.
I actually went to watch The Expendables 2 last night before having seen the first film, because I need to review it for my website, but the projector was broken, so I got a refund and a free movie pass. Can’t complain.
The Expendables (2010, Sylvester Stallone). B. I have a weakness for dumb action movies, and this one delivered the blood-soaked goods. At one point in the film, Stallone’s character slashes off one guy’s arm, decapitates another guy, and stabs another guy through the throat, all in one swing of his knife. There is definitely a layer of humor in the movie, and it never takes itself too seriously while avoiding outright self-mockery. It has a fun, loose feel to it and its 104 minute runtime goes by very quickly. I wasn’t expecting to see a great performance in this film, but Mickey Rourke has a sincere, poignant monologue about watching a woman commit suicide in Bosnia. It feels completely out of place, but in a good way. Overall, I was impressed, and I’ll be seeing the sequel.
I actually went to watch The Expendables 2 last night before having seen the first film, because I need to review it for my website, but the projector was broken, so I got a refund and a free movie pass. Can’t complain.
I doubt I’ll be seeing any of these theatrically. I was expecting Hit & Run to be savaged across the board by critics, so I’m a bit taken aback by this positive review, as well as the 2/4 positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes at the moment. The trailer was terrible and I loathe that poster advertising it as “THE BEST COMEDY OF THE YEAR” (according to some guy with a MySpace, if you check the fine print), so I still won’t pay to see it, but perhaps it might merit a look at some point.
Premium Rush looks like a sad waste of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon, and PG-13 horror is so rarely effective that I’ll skip The Apparition unless it gets an unexpectedly positive reception.
As Bijoux said, this seems to be a weekend to catch things you haven’t already seen. It looks like my possibilities may include Beasts of the Southern Wild (assuming it gets held over another week), Ruby Sparks, The Expendables 2, and The Queen of Versailles.
This in no way makes it less tragic, but I understand now why he did this. If I were diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer, I’d take my own life as well rather than continue suffering and eventually die an agonizing death from what is possibly the worst form of cancer. Since Tony Scott directed some of the biggest action movies, I suppose he wanted to go out with a bang, which would explain the method of suicide he chose. I wish he were alive and healthy, but I’m glad he doesn’t have to suffer with the cancer anymore.
I think it’s certainly possible. Clear and Present Danger was a hit, and then… nothing. Perhaps he irked the wrong people. It’s unfortunate that one’s political beliefs can cause unemployment in Hollywood, but it isn’t surprising.
I wrote something about Scott tonight for my website. I don’t want to be trolling for hits, so I’ll just post the piece here.
I have no idea what to say in this situation. Last night, I came home from a fun night on the town and logged into Twitter, completely unprepared for the awful news I was about to receive. Tony Scott, the 68-year-old director of such blockbusters as Top Gun, True Romance, and Crimson Tide, committed suicide by leaping from the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro, California.
Scott managed to avoiding getting caught in the shadow of his brother, Alien helmer Ridley Scott, by crafting his own recognizable style. His work had a polarizing reception among critics, but he was beloved by audiences for his slick, aggressive, and immediately recognizable directorial style that became massively influential to a generation of filmmakers. Filmmakers such as Joe Carnahan (The Grey) and Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko), both of whom took to Twitter last night to share poignant and highly personal memories of Scott.
“After Tony saw ‘The Grey‘ I got this call, that familiar rasp. ‘Joe, It’s Tone, fuckin’ movie’s great man, don’t let ‘em fuck it up, yeah?’ Carnahan tweeted, one of a series of memories the director shared. “Tony GAVE me my commercial career at a time when when the marquee should’ve said: “Films by Tony Scott, John Woo & Who The Fuck Is That Guy.”
“Working with Tony Scott was like a glorious road trip to Vegas on desert back roads, a wild man behind the wheel, grinning. I felt safe,” said Kelly. Scott directed Kelly’s screenplay Domino, starring Keira Knightley, which has garnered a cult following since its initial release.
My favorite Tony Scott film is True Romance. It’s an insanely witty, violent, noirish love story written by a young Quentin Tarantino and enhanced by Scott’s direction and liberal use of rapid cuts. It was one of the first serious movies I discovered at age 14 as a budding cinephile, and movies don’t come any more purely enjoyable film. One could easily argue that it made Brad Pitt a star for his now iconic portrayal of comic relief stoner Floyd, just as Top Gun made Tom Cruise an international A-list celebrity.
Among Scott’s most prominent collaborators was Denzel Washington. The Academy Award winning actor starred in five of the director’s films, including his swan song, the runaway train thriller Unstoppable, which received a highly positive critical response.
There has been some dispute regarding what exactly caused Tony Scott to jump from that bridge. Some have cited inoperable brain cancer; others have mentioned depression. At the moment, we don’t know. Frankly, the motive is irrelevant, because a great director is gone regardless. His life and the legacy he left behind is what matters. True Romance, Top Gun, and Man on Fire, along with his other work, are movies people will never stop watching. These films have been cherished by moviegoers for years, and this will continue.
Scott is survived by a wife, Donna, two sons, Max and Frank, and an older brother, Ridley. -—
http://thefilmgoersproject.com/?p=2284
I’ve seen both of these. I found enough chuckles in The Watch (C+) to recommend it for a Redbox viewing or streaming, and it deserved a somewhat kinder critical reception, but it’s by no means one of the year’s best comedies. Richard Ayoade almost singlehandedly saves it. Step Up Revolution (D-) is a disaster with no reason to exist in its present state. I knew the plot would be inane, but the dancing is edited into oblivion, with pointless close-ups in the middle of sequences that might have otherwise been fun. It has one thing to offer, impressive dance moves, and can’t even manage to get that right. The only moment I didn’t hate was the dance scene at the art museum, which is visually interesting.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a Republican. I’m just wondering why a once popular screenwriter hasn’t gotten work since 1994 when his last movie was a box office hit. Perhaps he’s difficult to work with, though that didn’t seem to stop him for getting decades of work prior to that. Then again, neither did his politics, so I don’t know. It would be interesting to find out the truth.
Rourke is a conservative? Huh. I knew about the others, but for some reason I thought he was actually a big liberal.
There is truth to that, definitely. Everything in Hollywood is about money, hence Warner Bros. moving The Great Gatsby to next summer so they can promote it as a big summer blockbuster. Are we sure he didn’t just willingly retire in the mid-90s?
Uli, thank you for defending Forrest Gump. It isn’t propaganda, and I don’t believe it has a political agenda one way or another. I know everything has to be analyzed to death, but I really don’t think it’s anything more sinister than a nice movie about a kind, mentally handicapped man who unwittingly experiences many of the biggest events in America during the second half of the 20th century. It’s a sweet film, and while it is sentimental, it comes about its sentiment earnestly. When Forrest’s mother and Jenny die, we care because we care about those characters and because we care about Forrest. It’s a well-written, well-directed, masterfully acted film, and though some loathe it with the fires of Hell, I’m unashamed to consider it a favorite.
I am new here, but I would love to participate in this series. Regrettably, I have not heard of either of these films, let alone seen them, and my search for them has yielded no success. I contacted the original poster, but seeing as the deadline is fast approaching, I felt it might be appropriate to post here and request that anyone who has links to Silence Has No Wings and The Other Side of the Underneath might privately send them to me. Thank you very much.
@The Corduroy Suit – When I first read that, I thought “wait, when did Keri Russell die?!” I also forgot Ken Russell died. This year’s In Memoriam at the Oscars will be longer than the rest of the show combined.
Thank you for having me, Risselada! It’s a pleasure to participate and discover new films. For me, both films started out extremely strong and went a bit off the rails as they progressed. I don’t want to seem ignorant, but they each became abstract to the point that I was no longer sure what was happening, particularly with regards to the Jane Arden film.
Throughout most of its runtime, I was wondering if Silence Has No Wings might join my list of all-time favorites. I was fascinated by the earlier stories in the film, including the boy with the butterfly and the Nagasaki couple. I do not know her name, but the woman who survived the atomic bomb and was traumatized by sirens delivered a beautiful performance. I was struck by one of her lines enough to scribble it down: “It’s like crying out to the sky — no one’s there to answer you. So… you wonder when will come the time you can honestly feel it was good to be alive.” The cinematography and use of lighting is gorgeous, as is the haunting score. Around the one hour mark, when the man in the suit goes to the clothing store, I no longer knew what was happening. The final scene, however, is quite powerful, making the butterfly allegory explicit.
Similarly, I found the earlier scenes in The Other Side of the Underneath deeply unsettling, but it lost me as it devolved into increasingly abstract symbolism. The old woman sitting on the ground repeating “silly old bitch, open your legs” was rather effective, as was the girl screaming “multiply and divide” as she stabs the pillow. My favorite moments in the film involved the character with the large, orange prosthetic nose. I believe she was known as Meg the Peg, and I found her terrifying. Eventually, however, I began to lose any semblance of an idea of what was happening onscreen. I’m willing to concede that it might have simply gone over my head, and if there is an explanation to be had, I certainly would be willing to listen.
My apologies for voting against the film you chose, Kenji. It’s nothing personal, I assure you.
Oh, I wish I had started posting here earlier! Tomboy is a mini-masterpiece in my opinion, and The Cool and the Crazy is one of a handful of Bakshi films I still haven’t seen. I’m new here, so I’ve never spoken to you before, but best of luck with your procedure, Dennis. I read about your condition in another thread, and you have my sympathy.
I try to sit through them out of respect for those involved in the film’s production, but I have something of a poor attention span, so I usually end up leaving or turning the film off before the credits have finished rolling, unless I expect an additional post-credits scene.
I also refuse to walk into a film late, so I’ve always related to that scene in Annie Hall.
Cleaners (2011) Review 10 months ago
The difference in the image quality is astonishing. It doesn’t look like it was shot on VHS now!
The original poster was upfront about it, so it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t mention that Mr. Reese and myself are good friends and have been for years, but bias aside, this is a pretty slick DVD transfer, particularly when compared to the horrendous image quality of the YouTube upload. Well done, Dougie!
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Cleaners (2011) Review 10 months ago
I don’t have my review anymore, but I remember giving it a B-. It’s possible that seeing the film the way it was intended to be seen will cause my score to rise.
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RIP Tony Scott 10 months ago
This is devastating. I need to become more familiar with his filmography, but True Romance is an exceptional film. Movies don’t come more purely enjoyable than that.
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1996 Poll 10 months ago
Unfortunately, I have seen very little from this year, but I was able to think of seven films I love. I hope it’s okay if I participate anyway.
Fargo
Runners-up (alphabetical):
Bottle Rocket
Crash
Happy Gilmore
The People vs. Larry Flynt
Sling Blade
Trainspotting
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The RZA and Man with the Iron fists: Musicians directing? 10 months ago
I’m not expecting anything worthy of awards, but based on the trailers I’ve seen, it should be rather fun. I’m looking forward to it regardless of who the director is.
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It's been a very bad year 10 months ago
Don’t forget Adam Yauch, founder of Oscilloscope (and Beastie Boy).
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Last movie you saw and rate it 10 months ago
The Expendables (2010, Sylvester Stallone). B. I have a weakness for dumb action movies, and this one delivered the blood-soaked goods. At one point in the film, Stallone’s character slashes off one guy’s arm, decapitates another guy, and stabs another guy through the throat, all in one swing of his knife. There is definitely a layer of humor in the movie, and it never takes itself too seriously while avoiding outright self-mockery. It has a fun, loose feel to it and its 104 minute runtime goes by very quickly. I wasn’t expecting to see a great performance in this film, but Mickey Rourke has a sincere, poignant monologue about watching a woman commit suicide in Bosnia. It feels completely out of place, but in a good way. Overall, I was impressed, and I’ll be seeing the sequel.
I actually went to watch The Expendables 2 last night before having seen the first film, because I need to review it for my website, but the projector was broken, so I got a refund and a free movie pass. Can’t complain.
Go to Comment
Last movie you saw and rate it 10 months ago
The Expendables (2010, Sylvester Stallone). B. I have a weakness for dumb action movies, and this one delivered the blood-soaked goods. At one point in the film, Stallone’s character slashes off one guy’s arm, decapitates another guy, and stabs another guy through the throat, all in one swing of his knife. There is definitely a layer of humor in the movie, and it never takes itself too seriously while avoiding outright self-mockery. It has a fun, loose feel to it and its 104 minute runtime goes by very quickly. I wasn’t expecting to see a great performance in this film, but Mickey Rourke has a sincere, poignant monologue about watching a woman commit suicide in Bosnia. It feels completely out of place, but in a good way. Overall, I was impressed, and I’ll be seeing the sequel.
I actually went to watch The Expendables 2 last night before having seen the first film, because I need to review it for my website, but the projector was broken, so I got a refund and a free movie pass. Can’t complain.
Go to Comment
Last movie you saw and rate it 10 months ago
The Expendables (2010, Sylvester Stallone). B. I have a weakness for dumb action movies, and this one delivered the blood-soaked goods. At one point in the film, Stallone’s character slashes off one guy’s arm, decapitates another guy, and stabs another guy through the throat, all in one swing of his knife. There is definitely a layer of humor in the movie, and it never takes itself too seriously while avoiding outright self-mockery. It has a fun, loose feel to it and its 104 minute runtime goes by very quickly. I wasn’t expecting to see a great performance in this film, but Mickey Rourke has a sincere, poignant monologue about watching a woman commit suicide in Bosnia. It feels completely out of place, but in a good way. Overall, I was impressed, and I’ll be seeing the sequel.
I actually went to watch The Expendables 2 last night before having seen the first film, because I need to review it for my website, but the projector was broken, so I got a refund and a free movie pass. Can’t complain.
Go to Comment
Last movie you saw and rate it 10 months ago
The Expendables (2010, Sylvester Stallone). B. I have a weakness for dumb action movies, and this one delivered the blood-soaked goods. At one point in the film, Stallone’s character slashes off one guy’s arm, decapitates another guy, and stabs another guy through the throat, all in one swing of his knife. There is definitely a layer of humor in the movie, and it never takes itself too seriously while avoiding outright self-mockery. It has a fun, loose feel to it and its 104 minute runtime goes by very quickly. I wasn’t expecting to see a great performance in this film, but Mickey Rourke has a sincere, poignant monologue about watching a woman commit suicide in Bosnia. It feels completely out of place, but in a good way. Overall, I was impressed, and I’ll be seeing the sequel.
I actually went to watch The Expendables 2 last night before having seen the first film, because I need to review it for my website, but the projector was broken, so I got a refund and a free movie pass. Can’t complain.
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Wide Release Films: August 24 2012 10 months ago
I doubt I’ll be seeing any of these theatrically. I was expecting Hit & Run to be savaged across the board by critics, so I’m a bit taken aback by this positive review, as well as the 2/4 positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes at the moment. The trailer was terrible and I loathe that poster advertising it as “THE BEST COMEDY OF THE YEAR” (according to some guy with a MySpace, if you check the fine print), so I still won’t pay to see it, but perhaps it might merit a look at some point.
Premium Rush looks like a sad waste of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon, and PG-13 horror is so rarely effective that I’ll skip The Apparition unless it gets an unexpectedly positive reception.
As Bijoux said, this seems to be a weekend to catch things you haven’t already seen. It looks like my possibilities may include Beasts of the Southern Wild (assuming it gets held over another week), Ruby Sparks, The Expendables 2, and The Queen of Versailles.
Go to Comment
RIP Tony Scott 10 months ago
This in no way makes it less tragic, but I understand now why he did this. If I were diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer, I’d take my own life as well rather than continue suffering and eventually die an agonizing death from what is possibly the worst form of cancer. Since Tony Scott directed some of the biggest action movies, I suppose he wanted to go out with a bang, which would explain the method of suicide he chose. I wish he were alive and healthy, but I’m glad he doesn’t have to suffer with the cancer anymore.
Go to Comment
Too Conservative for Hollywood 10 months ago
I think it’s certainly possible. Clear and Present Danger was a hit, and then… nothing. Perhaps he irked the wrong people. It’s unfortunate that one’s political beliefs can cause unemployment in Hollywood, but it isn’t surprising.
Go to Comment
RIP Tony Scott 10 months ago
I wrote something about Scott tonight for my website. I don’t want to be trolling for hits, so I’ll just post the piece here.
I have no idea what to say in this situation. Last night, I came home from a fun night on the town and logged into Twitter, completely unprepared for the awful news I was about to receive. Tony Scott, the 68-year-old director of such blockbusters as Top Gun, True Romance, and Crimson Tide, committed suicide by leaping from the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro, California.
Scott managed to avoiding getting caught in the shadow of his brother, Alien helmer Ridley Scott, by crafting his own recognizable style. His work had a polarizing reception among critics, but he was beloved by audiences for his slick, aggressive, and immediately recognizable directorial style that became massively influential to a generation of filmmakers. Filmmakers such as Joe Carnahan (The Grey) and Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko), both of whom took to Twitter last night to share poignant and highly personal memories of Scott.
“After Tony saw ‘The Grey‘ I got this call, that familiar rasp. ‘Joe, It’s Tone, fuckin’ movie’s great man, don’t let ‘em fuck it up, yeah?’ Carnahan tweeted, one of a series of memories the director shared. “Tony GAVE me my commercial career at a time when when the marquee should’ve said: “Films by Tony Scott, John Woo & Who The Fuck Is That Guy.”
“Working with Tony Scott was like a glorious road trip to Vegas on desert back roads, a wild man behind the wheel, grinning. I felt safe,” said Kelly. Scott directed Kelly’s screenplay Domino, starring Keira Knightley, which has garnered a cult following since its initial release.
My favorite Tony Scott film is True Romance. It’s an insanely witty, violent, noirish love story written by a young Quentin Tarantino and enhanced by Scott’s direction and liberal use of rapid cuts. It was one of the first serious movies I discovered at age 14 as a budding cinephile, and movies don’t come any more purely enjoyable film. One could easily argue that it made Brad Pitt a star for his now iconic portrayal of comic relief stoner Floyd, just as Top Gun made Tom Cruise an international A-list celebrity.
Among Scott’s most prominent collaborators was Denzel Washington. The Academy Award winning actor starred in five of the director’s films, including his swan song, the runaway train thriller Unstoppable, which received a highly positive critical response.
There has been some dispute regarding what exactly caused Tony Scott to jump from that bridge. Some have cited inoperable brain cancer; others have mentioned depression. At the moment, we don’t know. Frankly, the motive is irrelevant, because a great director is gone regardless. His life and the legacy he left behind is what matters. True Romance, Top Gun, and Man on Fire, along with his other work, are movies people will never stop watching. These films have been cherished by moviegoers for years, and this will continue.
Scott is survived by a wife, Donna, two sons, Max and Frank, and an older brother, Ridley.
-—http://thefilmgoersproject.com/?p=2284
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Wide Release Films: July 27, 2012: Step Up Revolution, The Watch 10 months ago
I’ve seen both of these. I found enough chuckles in The Watch (C+) to recommend it for a Redbox viewing or streaming, and it deserved a somewhat kinder critical reception, but it’s by no means one of the year’s best comedies. Richard Ayoade almost singlehandedly saves it. Step Up Revolution (D-) is a disaster with no reason to exist in its present state. I knew the plot would be inane, but the dancing is edited into oblivion, with pointless close-ups in the middle of sequences that might have otherwise been fun. It has one thing to offer, impressive dance moves, and can’t even manage to get that right. The only moment I didn’t hate was the dance scene at the art museum, which is visually interesting.
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Too Conservative for Hollywood 10 months ago
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a Republican. I’m just wondering why a once popular screenwriter hasn’t gotten work since 1994 when his last movie was a box office hit. Perhaps he’s difficult to work with, though that didn’t seem to stop him for getting decades of work prior to that. Then again, neither did his politics, so I don’t know. It would be interesting to find out the truth.
Rourke is a conservative? Huh. I knew about the others, but for some reason I thought he was actually a big liberal.
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Too Conservative for Hollywood 10 months ago
There is truth to that, definitely. Everything in Hollywood is about money, hence Warner Bros. moving The Great Gatsby to next summer so they can promote it as a big summer blockbuster. Are we sure he didn’t just willingly retire in the mid-90s?
Go to Comment
Too Conservative for Hollywood 10 months ago
Uli, thank you for defending Forrest Gump. It isn’t propaganda, and I don’t believe it has a political agenda one way or another. I know everything has to be analyzed to death, but I really don’t think it’s anything more sinister than a nice movie about a kind, mentally handicapped man who unwittingly experiences many of the biggest events in America during the second half of the 20th century. It’s a sweet film, and while it is sentimental, it comes about its sentiment earnestly. When Forrest’s mother and Jenny die, we care because we care about those characters and because we care about Forrest. It’s a well-written, well-directed, masterfully acted film, and though some loathe it with the fires of Hell, I’m unashamed to consider it a favorite.
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Watch Movies Online In High Clarity Print 10 months ago
This seems entirely legitimate. He said, sarcastically.
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #59: Japan (Silence Has No Wings) vs. Wales (The Other Side of the Underneath) 10 months ago
I am new here, but I would love to participate in this series. Regrettably, I have not heard of either of these films, let alone seen them, and my search for them has yielded no success. I contacted the original poster, but seeing as the deadline is fast approaching, I felt it might be appropriate to post here and request that anyone who has links to Silence Has No Wings and The Other Side of the Underneath might privately send them to me. Thank you very much.
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #59: Japan (Silence Has No Wings) vs. Wales (The Other Side of the Underneath) 10 months ago
Thank you! Kenji already messaged me privately about this, and I’ve messaged Risselada. I would remove my previous post if I knew how.
EDIT: This has been resolved. Thanks again to all three of you.
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It's been a very bad year 10 months ago
@The Corduroy Suit – When I first read that, I thought “wait, when did Keri Russell die?!” I also forgot Ken Russell died. This year’s In Memoriam at the Oscars will be longer than the rest of the show combined.
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #59: Japan (Silence Has No Wings) vs. Wales (The Other Side of the Underneath) 10 months ago
(Japan) Silence Has No Wings 1] (Wales) The Other Side of the Underneath 0
I’ll share my thoughts later.
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #59: Japan (Silence Has No Wings) vs. Wales (The Other Side of the Underneath) 10 months ago
My mistake! Fixed it.
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #59: Japan (Silence Has No Wings) vs. Wales (The Other Side of the Underneath) 10 months ago
Thank you for having me, Risselada! It’s a pleasure to participate and discover new films. For me, both films started out extremely strong and went a bit off the rails as they progressed. I don’t want to seem ignorant, but they each became abstract to the point that I was no longer sure what was happening, particularly with regards to the Jane Arden film.
Throughout most of its runtime, I was wondering if Silence Has No Wings might join my list of all-time favorites. I was fascinated by the earlier stories in the film, including the boy with the butterfly and the Nagasaki couple. I do not know her name, but the woman who survived the atomic bomb and was traumatized by sirens delivered a beautiful performance. I was struck by one of her lines enough to scribble it down: “It’s like crying out to the sky — no one’s there to answer you. So… you wonder when will come the time you can honestly feel it was good to be alive.” The cinematography and use of lighting is gorgeous, as is the haunting score. Around the one hour mark, when the man in the suit goes to the clothing store, I no longer knew what was happening. The final scene, however, is quite powerful, making the butterfly allegory explicit.
Similarly, I found the earlier scenes in The Other Side of the Underneath deeply unsettling, but it lost me as it devolved into increasingly abstract symbolism. The old woman sitting on the ground repeating “silly old bitch, open your legs” was rather effective, as was the girl screaming “multiply and divide” as she stabs the pillow. My favorite moments in the film involved the character with the large, orange prosthetic nose. I believe she was known as Meg the Peg, and I found her terrifying. Eventually, however, I began to lose any semblance of an idea of what was happening onscreen. I’m willing to concede that it might have simply gone over my head, and if there is an explanation to be had, I certainly would be willing to listen.
My apologies for voting against the film you chose, Kenji. It’s nothing personal, I assure you.
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Netflix, Hulu Streaming Screening and Analysis Viewing Party 10 months ago
Oh, I wish I had started posting here earlier! Tomboy is a mini-masterpiece in my opinion, and The Cool and the Crazy is one of a handful of Bakshi films I still haven’t seen. I’m new here, so I’ve never spoken to you before, but best of luck with your procedure, Dennis. I read about your condition in another thread, and you have my sympathy.
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Who sits and watches all the credits of a film? 10 months ago
I try to sit through them out of respect for those involved in the film’s production, but I have something of a poor attention span, so I usually end up leaving or turning the film off before the credits have finished rolling, unless I expect an additional post-credits scene.
I also refuse to walk into a film late, so I’ve always related to that scene in Annie Hall.
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Favorite Beach Boys album(s)? 10 months ago
I’m not as familiar with their work as I should be, but I’ll rank my three favorites. I’m very fond of each of these albums.
1. Pet Sounds
2. SMiLE
3. Surf’s Up
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Post a song you are currently listening to 10 months ago
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Post a song you are currently listening to 10 months ago
Sorry for the double post.
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