Honestly, I haven’t been very fond of his work lately. At all, really. Don’t get me wrong; His early films are wonderful. But his new films just feel like they lack the heart and sincerity of his early works. The best way I can describe what I’m talking about is a comparison of Mean Streets and The Departed. I saw them both in a close time frame. After I watched Mean Streets, I left that film legitimately excited. I just felt like I could feel his passion for film and people coming through that screen. I just felt so connected to everything happening to screen. It’s hard to put my finger on how exactly I felt, but it was strong none the less.
But soon after I saw The Departed and the experience was absolutely different. Instead of feeling like I was watching something fresh and sincere unfold, I had no connection with anything going on. Instead, it seemed like he had taken the blueprints for the crime film genre and placed the pieces accordingly. The characters didn’t feel three dimensional and real as they did in Mean Streets. Instead, they were hollow genre stereotypes. Crazy mob bosses, crooked cops, etc. The world he created seemed flat. I even managed to fall asleep for a bit in the middle (Which never happens to me) and when I woke up, I felt as though I’d missed nothing.
I have nothing against the man. Again, I think his early work is brilliant. And as much as I’m not really fond of his new films, I do still have a great respect for him. But what I loved about him was his enthusiasm for cinema. I felt like he got so much joy out of creating a new universe and setting it into motion. It’s infectious. I’m sure he still has a passion for film, but now that freshness of someone who is just starting out has faded. It feels like he’s reached a comfort zone to an extent. He does have a lot of diversity in his work now, but a comfort zone in so far as nothing seems adventurous. He seems to stick close to the guidelines of the genre he’s working in.
I don’t know, maybe I’m just missing something here. Everyone really seems to love his later works, but they really don’t do much for me. Not really for a concrete reason either. It’s just this feeling of an abstract loss.
A lot of Martin Scorcese’s new film, Shutter Island, was filmed in my town. The mental hospital used in the film is an old abandoned hospital here. Though, most of the exterior shots of it are from somewhere else completely. My town isn’t an island, and the hospital is by no means as towering as it is in the trailer. But he shot a bunch in a parking lot. I managed to just walk on set when they were rehearsing some scene in a car (Shot on green screen). A friend of mine is an extra in it as well. Crazy.
Well Josh, I’m really still sitting on it. Perhaps it was just the mood I was in when I was watching it. A 7 is by no means a bad score, mind you. I still did like it. I just had trouble focusing for some reason. I’ll sit on it and withhold my score until I can give it more thought.
1. Stolen Kisses (Francoise Truffaut)
2. I Am Cuious – Blue (Vilgot Sjoman)
3. Walking (Ryan Larkin)
4. Planet of the Apes (Franklin J. Schaffner)
5. Yellow Submarine (George Dunning, Dennis Abey)
6. Head (Bob Rafleson)
7. Salesman (Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin)
8. Hour of the Wolf (Ingmar Bergman)
9. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrik)
10. Shame (Ingmar Bergman)
Holden McNeil in Chasing Amy is unfortunately too close to me for comfort. Also, basically any character in a Charlie Kaufman film, most specifically Caden Cotard in Synecdoche, New York.
Personally, I’m a huge, HUGE fan of The King of Kong. Not even that it’s groundbreaking or anything like that. But I have been part of the gaming community since I was very young, and that film captures that so perfectly.
Can’t really think of many that way, but on the vice versa front, I really didn’t like Apocalypse Now when I first saw it. Don’t know why. But after seeing random scenes from it time and time again I have come to realize how brilliant it is.
Ehhh, I don’t know. I’ve always really liked Tim Burton. And I felt like Sweeney Todd was a perfect use of his style. But now that it’s been topped for me, I worry that I’ll be bored if he keeps doing the same thing over and over. He has a distinct style which I respect a lot, but it’s starting to get a little boring.
God, that sounds like the dullest, dullest film idea. And really no room for David Fincher to work any visual goodness in. Just sounds incredibly uninteresting.
That’s an infuriatingly stupid quote. I’m getting very frustrated who refuse to treat film as art. I find myself arguing about this more and more. This almost makes me respect Uwe Boll for the time he challenged Bay to a boxing match, saying it was a fight between big studio business films and independent cinema.
But it’s actually impossibly to respect Uwe Boll, so nevermind.
Touchee Law, touchee. I also (unfortunately) am bracing myself for horrible CGI shots of moving through the inside of a computer. You know what I mean. Someone sitting at a computer and the camera shooting into the screen and traveling through the CGI internet to someone 2,000 miles away.
I know what you mean. When I saw Vertigo I liked it a lot, but was stunned that it was so highly acclaimed over his other films. I don’t think it’s his best. Top 5? Perhaps. But not #1. To this day, it still does confuse me just a bit that’s it’s so acclaimed. But honestly, the more I think about that film, the more I can understand. It really stuck with me stronger than most of his films. Something about the overall vibe of it just doesn’t leave my mind. Out of all of his films, Vertigo may be the one whose atmosphere stands out the most. And not just out of his films, but out of most movies in general.
So maybe not his best, but as far as creating a vibe, Vertigo excels at it, It really sticks.
The first 3 that jumped to mind instantly were all said in the first 2 posts; Atonement, Children of Men, Weekend. The other single takes that Iove aren’t really tracking shots though. Most are just a steady shot that goes on for a really long time. Like the one in Ingmar Bergman’s Shame with the three main characters sitting at the table? Amazing.
EDIT: How did I forget to mention the first shot in Touch of Evil?? The best, period.
SECOND EDIT: Seriously…. I also don’t know how I forgot the entirety of I Am Cuba. I am scatterbrained….
Oh good. Double the nominees I can disagree with. It’s a shame they didn’t start it at this year’s Oscars so they could have nominated Slumdog Millionaire 3 times.
HOW MANY FILMS CAN YOU WATCH IN A DAY? DEPENDING ON YOUR MOOD almost 3 years ago
At the most, I can do 5 in a day. That’s on a complete day off. No sot of working. Otherwise 2 or 3 on average.
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LET'S TALK FRANKLY ABOUT MARTIN SCORSESE almost 3 years ago
Honestly, I haven’t been very fond of his work lately. At all, really. Don’t get me wrong; His early films are wonderful. But his new films just feel like they lack the heart and sincerity of his early works. The best way I can describe what I’m talking about is a comparison of Mean Streets and The Departed. I saw them both in a close time frame. After I watched Mean Streets, I left that film legitimately excited. I just felt like I could feel his passion for film and people coming through that screen. I just felt so connected to everything happening to screen. It’s hard to put my finger on how exactly I felt, but it was strong none the less.
But soon after I saw The Departed and the experience was absolutely different. Instead of feeling like I was watching something fresh and sincere unfold, I had no connection with anything going on. Instead, it seemed like he had taken the blueprints for the crime film genre and placed the pieces accordingly. The characters didn’t feel three dimensional and real as they did in Mean Streets. Instead, they were hollow genre stereotypes. Crazy mob bosses, crooked cops, etc. The world he created seemed flat. I even managed to fall asleep for a bit in the middle (Which never happens to me) and when I woke up, I felt as though I’d missed nothing.
I have nothing against the man. Again, I think his early work is brilliant. And as much as I’m not really fond of his new films, I do still have a great respect for him. But what I loved about him was his enthusiasm for cinema. I felt like he got so much joy out of creating a new universe and setting it into motion. It’s infectious. I’m sure he still has a passion for film, but now that freshness of someone who is just starting out has faded. It feels like he’s reached a comfort zone to an extent. He does have a lot of diversity in his work now, but a comfort zone in so far as nothing seems adventurous. He seems to stick close to the guidelines of the genre he’s working in.
I don’t know, maybe I’m just missing something here. Everyone really seems to love his later works, but they really don’t do much for me. Not really for a concrete reason either. It’s just this feeling of an abstract loss.
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Last movie you saw and rate it almost 3 years ago
Late Sping – 7/10
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The Works of David Lynch, Best to Worst almost 3 years ago
Out of the ones I’ve seen, and not counting his shorts or Twin Peaks series (As I haven’t finished it quite yet):
1. Eraserhead
2. Inland Empire
3. Mulholland Drive
4. The Elephant Man
5. Blue Velvet
Also begs the question; Am I the only one who thought Inland Empire was brilliant?
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What films were shot in or near your hometown? almost 3 years ago
A lot of Martin Scorcese’s new film, Shutter Island, was filmed in my town. The mental hospital used in the film is an old abandoned hospital here. Though, most of the exterior shots of it are from somewhere else completely. My town isn’t an island, and the hospital is by no means as towering as it is in the trailer. But he shot a bunch in a parking lot. I managed to just walk on set when they were rehearsing some scene in a car (Shot on green screen). A friend of mine is an extra in it as well. Crazy.
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Last movie you saw and rate it almost 3 years ago
Well Josh, I’m really still sitting on it. Perhaps it was just the mood I was in when I was watching it. A 7 is by no means a bad score, mind you. I still did like it. I just had trouble focusing for some reason. I’ll sit on it and withhold my score until I can give it more thought.
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One time Criterion directors that deserve another shot? almost 3 years ago
Mikhail Kalatozov. I Am Cuba is LONG overdo for a Criterion release.
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OT: What are you reading? almost 3 years ago
Reading the complete short stories of Flannery O’Connor.
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Movies That Should Be In the Criterion Collection almost 3 years ago
I Am Cuba
Fellini’s Roma
City of Women
Prenom Carmen
Battleship Potemkin
Head-On
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Movie's you just don't like. almost 3 years ago
Gran Torino. I thought it was abysmal, but everyone seems to believe it’s one of Clint Eastwood’s finest.
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An experiment (sort of) almost 3 years ago
1. Stolen Kisses (Francoise Truffaut)
2. I Am Cuious – Blue (Vilgot Sjoman)
3. Walking (Ryan Larkin)
4. Planet of the Apes (Franklin J. Schaffner)
5. Yellow Submarine (George Dunning, Dennis Abey)
6. Head (Bob Rafleson)
7. Salesman (Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin)
8. Hour of the Wolf (Ingmar Bergman)
9. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrik)
10. Shame (Ingmar Bergman)
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Last movie you saw and rate it almost 3 years ago
Taste of Cherry – 8/10
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Most depressing film you have ever seen? almost 3 years ago
Scenes From a Marriage depresses me to no end. I love it.
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A Character Just Like You almost 3 years ago
Holden McNeil in Chasing Amy is unfortunately too close to me for comfort. Also, basically any character in a Charlie Kaufman film, most specifically Caden Cotard in Synecdoche, New York.
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If you could only watch ONE directors films for the rest of your life... almost 3 years ago
Probably Bergman. But it’s a really close call between him and Godard. In fact, maybe I’ll go Godard for the sheer mass of his filmography.
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What are the best documentary films ever? almost 3 years ago
Personally, I’m a huge, HUGE fan of The King of Kong. Not even that it’s groundbreaking or anything like that. But I have been part of the gaming community since I was very young, and that film captures that so perfectly.
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Film(s) You Initially Thought Were Masterpieces But Now You Dislike and Vice Versa almost 3 years ago
Can’t really think of many that way, but on the vice versa front, I really didn’t like Apocalypse Now when I first saw it. Don’t know why. But after seeing random scenes from it time and time again I have come to realize how brilliant it is.
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First Photos: Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland almost 3 years ago
Ehhh, I don’t know. I’ve always really liked Tim Burton. And I felt like Sweeney Todd was a perfect use of his style. But now that it’s been topped for me, I worry that I’ll be bored if he keeps doing the same thing over and over. He has a distinct style which I respect a lot, but it’s starting to get a little boring.
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David Fincher to direct Sorkin's script about Facebook. almost 3 years ago
God, that sounds like the dullest, dullest film idea. And really no room for David Fincher to work any visual goodness in. Just sounds incredibly uninteresting.
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Michael Bay says creating an "Art" movie is easy almost 3 years ago
That’s an infuriatingly stupid quote. I’m getting very frustrated who refuse to treat film as art. I find myself arguing about this more and more. This almost makes me respect Uwe Boll for the time he challenged Bay to a boxing match, saying it was a fight between big studio business films and independent cinema.
But it’s actually impossibly to respect Uwe Boll, so nevermind.
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David Fincher to direct Sorkin's script about Facebook. almost 3 years ago
Touchee Law, touchee. I also (unfortunately) am bracing myself for horrible CGI shots of moving through the inside of a computer. You know what I mean. Someone sitting at a computer and the camera shooting into the screen and traveling through the CGI internet to someone 2,000 miles away.
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WHICH FILM WOULD TOP CITIZEN KANE ON THE AFI LIST IN THE FUTURE? IF ITS POSSIBLE almost 3 years ago
Impossible. But I agree with Francisco with 2001.
I really do believe Citizen Kane is the finest film ever made. I enjoy some films more than it, but I still can’t deny it’s perfection.
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Classic movies you can't get on d.v.d. almost 3 years ago
Face to Face. God, I want to see it so badly….
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David Fincher to direct Sorkin's script about Facebook. almost 3 years ago
At least it’s not an adaptation/remake/reboot/sequel. Thought, I suppose it is a film adaptation of a real life event…
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VERTIGO almost 3 years ago
I know what you mean. When I saw Vertigo I liked it a lot, but was stunned that it was so highly acclaimed over his other films. I don’t think it’s his best. Top 5? Perhaps. But not #1. To this day, it still does confuse me just a bit that’s it’s so acclaimed. But honestly, the more I think about that film, the more I can understand. It really stuck with me stronger than most of his films. Something about the overall vibe of it just doesn’t leave my mind. Out of all of his films, Vertigo may be the one whose atmosphere stands out the most. And not just out of his films, but out of most movies in general.
So maybe not his best, but as far as creating a vibe, Vertigo excels at it, It really sticks.
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Most impressive one-take tracking shot? almost 3 years ago
The first 3 that jumped to mind instantly were all said in the first 2 posts; Atonement, Children of Men, Weekend. The other single takes that Iove aren’t really tracking shots though. Most are just a steady shot that goes on for a really long time. Like the one in Ingmar Bergman’s Shame with the three main characters sitting at the table? Amazing.
EDIT: How did I forget to mention the first shot in Touch of Evil?? The best, period.
SECOND EDIT: Seriously…. I also don’t know how I forgot the entirety of I Am Cuba. I am scatterbrained….
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You guys all know about that "1001 movies you must see..." right? almost 3 years ago
Seeing Far From Heaven and Adaptation kicked off was all I needed to see to make my decision that I don’t like that book.
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Who do you read? almost 3 years ago
Anton Chekhov, George Orwell, F Scott Fitzgerald, Flannery O’Connor, Virginia Woolf, and Sylvia Plath. Love them all so much.
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Ten Worst Movies You've Ever Seen? almost 3 years ago
Hard to order, or completely figure out. But the lost includes;
A Sound of Thunder (This is THE WORST, by far)
Disaster Movie
Meet the Spartans
Shanghai Express
Wolf Hound
The Fantastic Four (1992)
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Oscar's Best Picture Nominees Will Expand to Ten almost 3 years ago
Oh good. Double the nominees I can disagree with. It’s a shame they didn’t start it at this year’s Oscars so they could have nominated Slumdog Millionaire 3 times.
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