Movie Thread (All forms)

[Ymono37]

I have a hard time getting what everyone loves about Woddy Allen movies. I try to like them more than I do, and just can't. They aren't bad movies at all, and they all have something about them that are good and original, but as a whole I just feel like all of them get way too much credit for what they are simply because they are woody allen movies.

Oh he's definitely not one of those guys where everything he puts out is gold... and I tend to agree with Winos, his early stuff was his best but as I mentioned above, even if Woody Allen hadn't been tied to it, the concept of Midnight in Paris just sounded interesting to me.

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

I like some Woody Allen films, but they are his earlier comedies from the 70s, "Sleeper" stands out in my mind.

I've had to deal with this issue being in film school. There are the "untouchable" directors, and I honestly feel that philosophy is bullshit.

Just because Allen, Spike Lee, Herzog, etc. make films doesn't mean they're immediate masterpieces. There's too much of this going on, so films seems to get a pass rather than be dissected.

Are all the above mentioned established? Sure. I like Match Point. It's a huge departure from how Allen does his films. Spike Lee did The 25th Hour. I thought that was one of his best films since Do the Right Thing (which has HUGE technical issues IMO).



I caught a few technical errors in Citizen Kane while watching it in an undergrad film criticism class, and I asked my prof what she thought of the errors (her sister wrote and directed Monster). She actually had the nerve to tell me they were intentional. It's amazing what we will tell ourselves to convince our minds that a film is a masterpiece. Citizen Kane is a good film, broke ground, but is it deserving of "one of the best films ever?" (doesn't crack my top 20).

 

[Ymono37]

I've had to deal with this issue being in film school. There are the "untouchable" directors, and I honestly feel that philosophy is bullshit.

Just because Allen, Spike Lee, Herzog, etc. make films doesn't mean they're immediate masterpieces. There's too much of this going on, so films seems to get a pass rather than be dissected.

Are all the above mentioned established? Sure. I like Match Point. It's a huge departure from how Allen does his films. Spike Lee did The 25th Hour. I thought that was one of his best films since Do the Right Thing (which has HUGE technical issues IMO).



I caught a few technical errors in Citizen Kane while watching it in an undergrad film criticism class, and I asked my prof what she thought of the errors (her sister wrote and directed Monster). She actually had the nerve to tell me they were intentional. It's amazing what we will tell ourselves to convince our minds that a film is a masterpiece. Citizen Kane is a good film, broke ground, but is it deserving of "one of the best films ever?" (doesn't crack my top 20).

Agree with you 100%... even in the music world. Paul McCartney gets away with some pretty shitty music, because he's Macca and can. Springsteen and Dylan are two others...



As far as Citizen Cane, I've always wondered that myself. It's a good movie and I enjoy it - but when someone tells me they've never seen it, it's not like I want to make them sit down and watch it (unless they're a film student).

 

[MassHavoc]

I've never seen Citizen kane. Only clips and all the references and such from other movies and media. I feel like it's kind of pointless at this point.

 

[Bringmepie]

I've had to deal with this issue being in film school. There are the "untouchable" directors, and I honestly feel that philosophy is bullshit.

Just because Allen, Spike Lee, Herzog, etc. make films doesn't mean they're immediate masterpieces. There's too much of this going on, so films seems to get a pass rather than be dissected.

Are all the above mentioned established? Sure. I like Match Point. It's a huge departure from how Allen does his films. Spike Lee did The 25th Hour. I thought that was one of his best films since Do the Right Thing (which has HUGE technical issues IMO).



I caught a few technical errors in Citizen Kane while watching it in an undergrad film criticism class, and I asked my prof what she thought of the errors (her sister wrote and directed Monster). She actually had the nerve to tell me they were intentional. It's amazing what we will tell ourselves to convince our minds that a film is a masterpiece. Citizen Kane is a good film, broke ground, but is it deserving of "one of the best films ever?" (doesn't crack my top 20).

I've never "studied" film for a class but I know darn well that it was a masterpiece for it's time. Personally I think it does get a bit tedious at times and the closest comparison in my life to the Cain/Hearst character would be Rupert Murdoch but compared to the other films of similar budget in it's time? ...like you said, it was ground breaking. Flawless? ...hardly. Intentional? That sounds like B.S., based on what? Did someone point out a flaw to Welles in an interview after the fact and he said, "Yeah, I meant to do that. That's the ticket!"

 

[phranchk]

They have the Criterion Collection on Hulu now. I'm going to start watching a bunch these classics. I want to check out some Akira Kurosawa movies as I've never seen any.

 

[bookjones]

They have the Criterion Collection on Hulu now. I'm going to start watching a bunch these classics. I want to check out some Akira Kurosawa movies as I've never seen any.

Akira Kurosawa = LOVE

 

[nana]

Moneyball was pretty good.

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

They have the Criterion Collection on Hulu now. I'm going to start watching a bunch these classics. I want to check out some Akira Kurosawa movies as I've never seen any.

Watch Ran.



I watched Winnebago Man last night. Mildly entertaining, but the filmmaker began to annoy me half way through the film. I'm not a big fan of filmmakers leading subjects. If you watch the film, you'll see what I mean.



Overall 6/10.

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

I've never "studied" film for a class but I know darn well that it was a masterpiece for it's time. Personally I think it does get a bit tedious at times and the closest comparison in my life to the Cain/Hearst character would be Rupert Murdoch but compared to the other films of similar budget in it's time? ...like you said, it was ground breaking. Flawless? ...hardly. Intentional? That sounds like B.S., based on what? Did someone point out a flaw to Welles in an interview after the fact and he said, "Yeah, I meant to do that. That's the ticket!"

Agree with this.

This film changed filmmaking, and Orson had a hell of a time marketing it. There were choices he made that are still borrowed to this day. It has it's place in film history.

 

[The Mule]

Just watched Beginners and it was amazing. Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer and Melanie Laurent are all spectacular. Maybe I cried. I don't care who knows it!

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

Bronson.

5/10.



The film has moments. Then it doesn't.

I never thought 93 minutes could be so long.

 

[phranchk]

Win Win - Enjoyed it. Nothing ground breaking, but decent flick. Probalby give it 3 out of 5. Worth a watch.

 

[mikita's helmet]

They have the Criterion Collection on Hulu now. I'm going to start watching a bunch these classics. I want to check out some Akira Kurosawa movies as I've never seen any.

Ran, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Seven Samurai, and The Hidden Fortress are all great Samurai films. Ran (king Lear) - made when Kurosawa was 75 - and Throne of Blood (Macbeth) are based on the works of Shakespeare. Yojimbo was remade by Sergio Leone as A Fistful of Dollars and the Seven Samurai was remade as The Magnificent Seven. Sanjuro is a sequel to Yojimbo. George Lucas Star War's characters, R2D2 and 3CPO are based on two characters - the diminutive sidekicks of the main Samurai - from The Hidden Fortess.



Stray Dog, High and Low and The Bad Sleep Well are all excellent police procedurals. Stray Dog is the story of a cop on the search for a criminal who has stolen his gun and is now killing people with it. The Bad Sleep Well is a tale of corporate corruption.



Along with Seven Samurai and Ran, Rashomon and Ikiru are considered Kurosawa's masterpieces. Rashomon - a meditation on "truth" - concerns a murder in the forest and four witnesses who saw it. Ikiru is the story of a man who discovers he has a terminal illness, and then getting his life in order before he dies.

 

[Ymono37]

Finally caught Midnight in Paris last weekend.... I really enjoyed it, if not for the story but the surprise of finding out which artist, musician or author was going to pop up next in Owen Wilson's midnight strolls. Very sharp picture and I really liked that Allen didn't star in it himself - he let Wilson portray him with more of an optimism than neurotic-ness he normally gives off. May not be everyone's cup 'o tea, but I genuinely enjoyed it.



Also saw Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Started much slower than the first, which I thought would be a problem - until it gained steam and didn't stop until it was over. I may have enjoyed it better than the first. The dynamic between Homes and Moriarty was fantastic and having Stephen Fry play Mycroft Holmes was a bit of genius casting.

 

[MassHavoc]

Nice! Stephen fry always reminded me of the guy from Top Gear for some reason... or actually, the other way around?

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ECeEjF-7k

This looks promising.

 

[MassHavoc]

Holy shit that's awesome. it's like it's made for me! I know it's a movie and all that jazz but is it wrong to wish people would do this. haha.



I'm sure you saw, but did you see who the writer/director is! That's some sweet action!

 

[winos5]

Watched Columbiana.



Meh... wait for it on cable/netflix.



Zoe Saldana continue to be easy on the eyes. Unrated version I watched did have some brief nudity from odd angles.

 

[TSD]

watched 4 movies this weekend.



1, Haywire (in the theater) the movie about the female military contractor who gets betrayed. It was entertaining but they seriously could have shaved a good 30 minutes from that movie, many many slow scenes with no dialogue ruin the pacing of the film. i.e. theres a scene where shes walking somewhere, and it literally films her walking for like 5 minutes, its like get the **** on with it already.



2. The Thing, enjoyable exactly what I expected I suppose.



3. Whistleblower with rachel weisz loosely based on the true story of UN workers participating in the trafficking of young girls for sex in Boznia. This was a pretty good show, a little tough to watch in some scenes because it displays some pretty graphic violations of women. The little love side plot in it between the main character and a UN worker from Holland was completely un-needed filler, the didnt develop it and it literally served no purpose in the film.



4. Drive with Ryan Gosling. I didnt know he could do action hero, but he plays the character really well, its a good old fashioned Anti-hero revenge story.