Bring It On. Loved it. Any teen film that manages to riff on blaxpliotation, wet t-shirt car washes, Marlon Brando, Bob Fosse and Busby Berkley deserves a second look. It’s unashamedly polished exploitation for dirty old men like me.
Tough call this. For cinema it’s Requiem For A Dream and for just pure imagination and execution Primer. This decade has had mixed years but overall it’s been a great one, particularly the growth of world cinema.
Thought it was okay. I agree with pretty much most of the original post. What really jarred me was that I didn’t find the action sequences that exciting. In comparison to Greengrass’ work and Crank (the first one) it was pretty flat.
I’ll wait until I see Inglorious. His first four films were excellent. With Kill Bill Vol II he went off the boil for me. | wouldn’t argue with any of the points put above. The guy knows how to direct a film and currently his style (call it ripping others off if you want) remains one of the more interesting and imaginative around.
Same as you Nathan on From Dusk Till Dawn. A workmate recommended I go and see it. He didn’t tell me anything about it and I hadn’t read anything about it. I was blown away when the film shunted into orbit. Great film.
I think overall his body of work is fairly average. He’s done a few that are great e.g. Salvador and JFK. My favourite of his though would have to be Nixon. It may well be his most accomplished political film and he’s at his best when he’s tackling politics not individual human stories.
Loved it. Cinematically it’s nothing special. I really connected with it though which is why a lot of people like it. It says a lot about many people’s own beliefs and ideals which doesn’t automatically make a film great because I’m sure Triumph Of The Will does too. People get a similar effect with The Shawshank Redemption. Shawshank isn’t anything special cinema-wise. It is a great story well done and in being so celebrates the great narrative cinema that America has delievered to the world since cinema began.
“I really liked The Fall, but the unfortunate thing is the grand tale being told had no weight to it as you knew it was just something the guy was making up on the go.”
- I’m not so sure about that. Surely his tales are representative of his beliefs and thought processes. There felt, to me, like there was a real anti-religious undercurrent to the fantasy sequences as if he was apportioning blame to a god for failing him.
Visually I loved the fantasy scenes and I’d agree with the comments above about it missing something which is due to the predictability mentioned by many. He definitely has potential as a director (I haven’t seen his other work yet).
I thought it was interesting off the first watch and I will probably be better placed to assess it fairly after another couple of viewings. My first reaction to it was that I started to wonder how long the film was going to go on for which isn’t a good sign. Next point was that it didn’t engage me cinematically on the first viewing which is probably more down to the fact that on first viewing my primary attention is the narrative and dialogue. In this film the narrative and dialoge were a bit too complex for me to focus significant attention to how the film was constructed visually.
I guess I’m in the minority here because I prefer Adaptation. I thought it was very funny and I’m still not sure whether Kaufman ran out of steam with the ending or if he was laughing at me with it.
I loved Baraka and preferred it to the earlier films Fricke did the cinematography for. The problem I have with those earlier films is the music which really gets up my nose. I can’t stand Philip Glass. They should have used him instead of waterboarding.
If you’re looking for something new try Manufactured Landscapes which is about the building of a dam in China. It has some incredible imagery in it and the opening shot is mesmerising.
I watch both although there is less in mainstream cinema that’s interesting. The thing with arthouse is that often it requires knowledge of film as art to understand. That’s not an aloof statement just an observation from how my learning has developed by reading about cinema and learning about it. With arthouse cinema even an average film usually has something about it to make it worth your while and there tends to be less emphasis on basic good versus evil, which is what you tend to get in a lot of mainstream films.
Agree on most of the comments on here. At his peak he was brilliant and About Schmidt was a great performance. When he’s doing run-of-the-mill stuff he’s usually the best thing in it. I even enjoyed Something’s Gotta Give because of him.
So many to mention but the one I have stuck in my mind at the moment (I haven’t seen it since the cinema) is the karaoke scene from Lost In Translation. I keep playing Roxy Music’s ‘More Than This’ and it makes me want to be there in the scene. Wonderfully done.
It’s a cliche but The Germans is a tremendous epsiode. There are so many great lines and class observations in this show that it should never be lost to history. It remains a pinnacle of British comedy. How does it translate to those of you who aren’t from the UK?
It’s pretty weak. I liked Ray Winstone’s performance and the musical interludes from Jack White were pretty entertaining but other than that I didn’t think there was much else in it. I get ridiculed for loving The English Patient although even the must ardent hater must prefer it to Cold Mountain.
I’m not sure about that Mike. There are plenty of times when I’ve not been in the mood to watch a particular film. Sometimes I need to be in the right frame of mind because I believe that I’m more open to trying to interpret the film than normal e.g. on a big film night I tend to try and ease myself into watching films by taking on something lighter, such as a comedy or action/crime/thriller type. After watching one or two of those my mind is ready for watching something a bit more challenging. I couldn’t easily drop into watching a Godard film straight after work because my mind won’t be able to give it it’s full concentration, which some films demand.
Astounding Debuts about 3 years ago
Hunger (McQueen).
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Films about Voyeurism? about 3 years ago
The Sorcerers by Michael Reeves.
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Best, Guilty Pleasure Film. about 3 years ago
Bring It On. Loved it. Any teen film that manages to riff on blaxpliotation, wet t-shirt car washes, Marlon Brando, Bob Fosse and Busby Berkley deserves a second look. It’s unashamedly polished exploitation for dirty old men like me.
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Are there any remakes that are better than the original film? about 3 years ago
Put me down for The Thing. I’m unsure about Invasion Of The Body Snatchers because the original if flipping ace.
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Favourite film of the decade (so far)? about 3 years ago
Tough call this. For cinema it’s Requiem For A Dream and for just pure imagination and execution Primer. This decade has had mixed years but overall it’s been a great one, particularly the growth of world cinema.
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The Disciples of Rushmore about 3 years ago
Disciples of Hal Ashby might be more appropriate ;)
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The Dark Knight- Zentih or Nadir of Contemporary Filmmaking or Somewhere Inbetween? about 3 years ago
Thought it was okay. I agree with pretty much most of the original post. What really jarred me was that I didn’t find the action sequences that exciting. In comparison to Greengrass’ work and Crank (the first one) it was pretty flat.
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Tarantino...yay or nay? And why? almost 3 years ago
I’ll wait until I see Inglorious. His first four films were excellent. With Kill Bill Vol II he went off the boil for me. | wouldn’t argue with any of the points put above. The guy knows how to direct a film and currently his style (call it ripping others off if you want) remains one of the more interesting and imaginative around.
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Best, Guilty Pleasure Film. almost 3 years ago
Same as you Nathan on From Dusk Till Dawn. A workmate recommended I go and see it. He didn’t tell me anything about it and I hadn’t read anything about it. I was blown away when the film shunted into orbit. Great film.
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Oliver Stone almost 3 years ago
I think overall his body of work is fairly average. He’s done a few that are great e.g. Salvador and JFK. My favourite of his though would have to be Nixon. It may well be his most accomplished political film and he’s at his best when he’s tackling politics not individual human stories.
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If You Could Direct A Remake... almost 3 years ago
They Live. Great little film. Could have been a bit longer. It all felt like it finished just as it was getting going.
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Am I Alone in Thinking That Harold & Maude is Not a Very Good Movie? almost 3 years ago
Loved it. Cinematically it’s nothing special. I really connected with it though which is why a lot of people like it. It says a lot about many people’s own beliefs and ideals which doesn’t automatically make a film great because I’m sure Triumph Of The Will does too. People get a similar effect with The Shawshank Redemption. Shawshank isn’t anything special cinema-wise. It is a great story well done and in being so celebrates the great narrative cinema that America has delievered to the world since cinema began.
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Where are you from? almost 3 years ago
UK. I live 9.5 miles from Leigh.
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Thougts on 'The Fall'? almost 3 years ago
“I really liked The Fall, but the unfortunate thing is the grand tale being told had no weight to it as you knew it was just something the guy was making up on the go.”
- I’m not so sure about that. Surely his tales are representative of his beliefs and thought processes. There felt, to me, like there was a real anti-religious undercurrent to the fantasy sequences as if he was apportioning blame to a god for failing him.
Visually I loved the fantasy scenes and I’d agree with the comments above about it missing something which is due to the predictability mentioned by many. He definitely has potential as a director (I haven’t seen his other work yet).
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Do You Like Wes Anderson? almost 3 years ago
Think he’s hit and miss. Rushmore and Tenenbaums were great, the others were pretty disposable to me.
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What do you consider to be the best film about Vietnam? almost 3 years ago
Punishment Park for me.
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Movies you didn't care for the first time...but almost 3 years ago
My apology if you’ve already sought these out Sean but The Big Sleep and A Long Goodbye are great films to watch before The Big Lebowski.
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Movies to get Excited about for 2009/2010 almost 3 years ago
Taking Woodstock got slated at Cannes.
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What is your favorite ending? almost 3 years ago
A couple of you have just mentioned it, Au Hassard Balthazar. The emotion of it took me by complete surprise.
After that I’d swap between a few e.g. Vertigo, Fitzcarraldo and United ’93 all for different reasons. Also have a soft spot for Ginger Snaps.
Edit: Forgot to put Whatever Happened To Baby Jane in there too.
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In your opinion is there a movie everybody 'has to like'? almost 3 years ago
What about Mr Smith Goes To Washington, The General or the original All The King’s Men?
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Does someone else think that Synecdoche, New York was flawed? almost 3 years ago
I thought it was interesting off the first watch and I will probably be better placed to assess it fairly after another couple of viewings. My first reaction to it was that I started to wonder how long the film was going to go on for which isn’t a good sign. Next point was that it didn’t engage me cinematically on the first viewing which is probably more down to the fact that on first viewing my primary attention is the narrative and dialogue. In this film the narrative and dialoge were a bit too complex for me to focus significant attention to how the film was constructed visually.
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Synecdoche Newyork almost 3 years ago
I guess I’m in the minority here because I prefer Adaptation. I thought it was very funny and I’m still not sure whether Kaufman ran out of steam with the ending or if he was laughing at me with it.
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Koyaanisqatsi and other Art Narrative Films almost 3 years ago
I loved Baraka and preferred it to the earlier films Fricke did the cinematography for. The problem I have with those earlier films is the music which really gets up my nose. I can’t stand Philip Glass. They should have used him instead of waterboarding.
If you’re looking for something new try Manufactured Landscapes which is about the building of a dam in China. It has some incredible imagery in it and the opening shot is mesmerising.
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Do You Only Watch the Art House? almost 3 years ago
I watch both although there is less in mainstream cinema that’s interesting. The thing with arthouse is that often it requires knowledge of film as art to understand. That’s not an aloof statement just an observation from how my learning has developed by reading about cinema and learning about it. With arthouse cinema even an average film usually has something about it to make it worth your while and there tends to be less emphasis on basic good versus evil, which is what you tend to get in a lot of mainstream films.
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Jack Nicholson: Great actor or overrated actor? almost 3 years ago
Agree on most of the comments on here. At his peak he was brilliant and About Schmidt was a great performance. When he’s doing run-of-the-mill stuff he’s usually the best thing in it. I even enjoyed Something’s Gotta Give because of him.
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First Film you can remember seeing at the movies almost 3 years ago
Disney’s The Jungle Book whenever that was re-released. After that it was Star Wars I think.
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Movie scenes that give you goosebumps almost 3 years ago
So many to mention but the one I have stuck in my mind at the moment (I haven’t seen it since the cinema) is the karaoke scene from Lost In Translation. I keep playing Roxy Music’s ‘More Than This’ and it makes me want to be there in the scene. Wonderfully done.
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Any Fawlty Towers fans out there? almost 3 years ago
It’s a cliche but The Germans is a tremendous epsiode. There are so many great lines and class observations in this show that it should never be lost to history. It remains a pinnacle of British comedy. How does it translate to those of you who aren’t from the UK?
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Cold Mountain almost 3 years ago
It’s pretty weak. I liked Ray Winstone’s performance and the musical interludes from Jack White were pretty entertaining but other than that I didn’t think there was much else in it. I get ridiculed for loving The English Patient although even the must ardent hater must prefer it to Cold Mountain.
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Do You Only Watch the Art House? almost 3 years ago
I’m not sure about that Mike. There are plenty of times when I’ve not been in the mood to watch a particular film. Sometimes I need to be in the right frame of mind because I believe that I’m more open to trying to interpret the film than normal e.g. on a big film night I tend to try and ease myself into watching films by taking on something lighter, such as a comedy or action/crime/thriller type. After watching one or two of those my mind is ready for watching something a bit more challenging. I couldn’t easily drop into watching a Godard film straight after work because my mind won’t be able to give it it’s full concentration, which some films demand.
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