A few films recently watched.

  On 1/15/2011 at 11:17 PM, Awepittance said:

  On 1/15/2011 at 9:50 PM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

  On 1/15/2011 at 11:02 AM, Blanket Fort Collapse said:

I really don't think the CGI in Black Swan was abrasively out of context or anything. Movie was solid imho.

 

 

dont get me wrong, its still a good movie...but the fact that I thought it was DAMN good up until the CGI shots, its like I wanted to choke Darren and say "YOU HAD IT ALL RIGHT....WHY? WHY DID YOU FUCK WITH IT?"

 

The CGI shots honestly removed me from being involved in her breakdown...I mean, heres a much simpler way of conveying the same images without having to literally show a transformation.

 

 

 

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When she does the end bit of Swan Lake and every twirl she morphs farther into the Black Swan. Instead of literally showing it, have the sound effects of the swan (feathers fluttering, etc.) which were used so often to their full effect...show closeups of her body as it twirls to suggest the transformation, no need to literally show her growing wings...then cut to the shot of her bowing with her shadow as the black swan (which btw was a perfect shot, you could have only had that shot and the audience would have understood...and they would also be more involved)

 

i have to take the old stance that "less is more" in a film like this

 

 

totally agree, see American Werewolf in London, still one of the best 'transformation' scenes done with no stop motion animation, only animatronics, practical effects and makeup

See also: Cronenberg's The Fly. Fucking incredible how well it holds up...it's not just on par with contemporary efforts, it's significantly BETTER. I just watched...well, attempted to watch, Wolfman. Utterly ridiculous looking CGI.

see also carpenter's the thing, which almost holds up as well. Interesting thing is watching the making-of documentary, carpenter removed some stop motion because he thought it didn't measure up　（I always wondered why the last scene was rather abrupt). I wish a lot of modern directors had his eye for what works and what doesn't...

it's kind of a funny story - this is about a precious new york hipster with fake depression who makes zelah look like snake plissken. zach galifianakis is his spirit guide. utter dogshit.

zodiac - i saw this three years ago and fell asleep. after rewatching it, i think it might be the best film of the last decade. sublime in every way. i don't think fincher will ever top this.

A Serbian Film - 10/10 for the baby fuck scene

  On 1/16/2011 at 7:03 AM, remy marathe said:

zodiac - i saw this three years ago and fell asleep. after rewatching it, i think it might be the best film of the last decade. sublime in every way. i don't think fincher will ever top this.

wtf...I'm pretty sure we argued about it years ago, too. I also think it's his best film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1386703/

  On 1/16/2011 at 7:03 AM, remy marathe said:

 

zodiac - i saw this three years ago and fell asleep. after rewatching it, i think it might be the best film of the last decade. sublime in every way. i don't think fincher will ever top this.

i did as well and i've only seen it once, i should probably try again. Although nothing can really top The Game for me, Finchers best film by a mile.

Zodiac is definitely Fincher's best movie. A shame it was released at such a piss poor time (right after the Oscars 2007).

  On 1/16/2011 at 6:59 AM, lumpenprol said:

see also carpenter's the thing, which almost holds up as well. Interesting thing is watching the making-of documentary, carpenter removed some stop motion because he thought it didn't measure up　（I always wondered why the last scene was rather abrupt). I wish a lot of modern directors had his eye for what works and what doesn't...

Not only that, but the guy that had been hired for vfx had never even done a film before (iirc) and he was winging it a lot of the time. I haven't seen the making of doc in a year or 2 but im pretty sure that was the case. Amazing.

  On 1/16/2011 at 10:58 AM, chimera slot mom said:

A Serbian Film - 10/10 for the baby fuck scene

you are one sick mother fucker!

I enjoyed the film because it was well made....

I had a different image of this scene in my head then when I saw it, so I wasn't too shocked...

still shocked...

but I knew about it before hand...

does Serbian Film top Necromantic 1 or 2 in terms of gratuitous gore and disturbing imagery

  On 1/16/2011 at 4:57 PM, The Overlook said:

  On 1/16/2011 at 7:03 AM, remy marathe said:

zodiac - i saw this three years ago and fell asleep. after rewatching it, i think it might be the best film of the last decade. sublime in every way. i don't think fincher will ever top this.

wtf...I'm pretty sure we argued about it years ago, too. I also think it's his best film.

i don't know, we might have. it's the biggest 180 i've ever had on a film. i think literally falling asleep maybe fifty minutes into it didn't help.

awepittance: the game is a really weird choice, to me. it's an ok movie, but his best? while i'm not an enormous fan of fight club or seven they're both quite a bit better. then again i'm not that into fincher, and it's only in the last five years (forgetting benjamin button) that he seems to have come into his own.

  On 1/17/2011 at 2:13 AM, Awepittance said:

does Serbian Film top Necromantic 1 or 2 in terms of gratuitous gore and disturbing imagery

serbian film didn't have much gore. most of the shocking stuff happens off screen. it's not really worth watching, and attempts to be transgressive or shocking but ends up feeling forced and nihilistic, like most films in that genre. i've never seen necromantik, but in terms of gore, i've seen a lot worse than serbian film.

I feel absolutely no need to watch The Serbian Film.

  On 1/12/2011 at 6:31 AM, Al Hounos said:

  On 1/11/2011 at 4:32 PM, eugene said:

"chaser" is a piece of shit that's got nothing on "memories of murder" which is indeed great (thanks for the rec, watmms)..i don't understand how can you like both in the same breath.

like i said, the chaser has its flaws, and MoM is definitely superior, but the chaser is still a great thriller. what was so bad about it, exactly?

the flaws, well, do these guys act retarded on purpose??? is the police action to be taken seriously??? wtf

this could be so much better if it wasn't for the dullness acting.

it's exactly like seeing an anime, only thing missing was the snot dropping of his noses...

still 6/10

  On 1/17/2011 at 2:13 AM, Awepittance said:

does Serbian Film top Necromantic 1 or 2 in terms of gratuitous gore and disturbing imagery

don't know if it is but I did enjoy the film in a "this isn't just some B film with violence thrown in for fun" kind of way....good acting, good cinematography, decent writing

it is about making snuff porn so I wouldn't call the violence unnecessary...

just read about Nekromantik and A Serbian Film might not be as disturbing...

Nekromantik sounds fucked up!!!!!

don't want to see it...

ASF was shown at SXSW at the theatre I used to work at and these vids are from that showing of the film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBDtEP8bJGE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_noYL0mzW4Q

primer - 4/5 - it's very confusing near the end and that's appropriate and kinda the point, but it still detracts from the experience in a way. great movie though. the low budget and excellent taste made it eerily realistic.

the social network - 2/5 - well done but pointless, much like benjamin button. zodiac is one of my favorites ever and pre-zodiac is mostly good or great, but i'm feeling pretty meh about fincher these days. the social network was basically like "look what a douche this guy is" without any greater point. i guess there's some pretentious shit about social disconnection and the irony of it all but fuck that shit.

the ghost writer - 3/5 - fun. the twists weren't terribly impactful but they were cool enough, and the very end of the ending was pretty cool.

the runaways - 2/5 - pointless and shallow but not offensively so.

the texas chainsaw massacre - 4/5 - awesome, awesome movie. i forget why i didn't give it a 5/5 (i'm just transcribing netflix ratings mostly) but i trust my past self. the violence is chilling even though not much gore is shown, perfect example of well-done horror. the humans-as-meat theme is really cool and effectively communicated.

the human centipede - 2/5 - not as bad as i was expecting. there are some genuinely creepy and well-done moments, but mostly it's very, very cheesy. it felt long, but i don't think it actually was. the ending is awesomely nihilistic imo even though it's also very lol.

the girlfriend experience - 4/5 - i gave this a 4? i guess so, why not. sasha grey is nice to look at when she's not wailing and gagging obnoxiously like she does in her less prestigious films, heh! it was enjoyable. i liked her acting actually---kinda stiff, but it comes across as real.

into the wild - 4/5 - gooooooood stuuufff maaaaaaaan. i got all choked up at times because i'm a big softy like that. the theme resonated with me.

the road - 4/5 - a good adaptation of the book. i think it faltered a bit right at the end though. the book was more ambiguous, more ironic, and more critical of the father. the hollywood leaked in riiiight the end. bummer. still a good adaptation though.

kick-ass - 3/5 - a fun action/comedy.

the hangover - 3/5 - overrated, still enjoyable. i actually enjoyed it a lot more the second time because i was watching with people who really enjoyed it (had seen it before). when i watched it alone, i was a sad lonely cynic with an immovable black heart, i guess.

the mist - 2/5 - i totally feel like i've reviewed this here before, but i checked my post history and didn't see it. eh, oh well. i read the short story a long time ago when i was a wee lad. two changes would make it a 4/5: 1) make the goofy religious shit less cheesy and less annoying. bitch really annoyed me whenever she was around. i suppose that's appropriate... but her acting... it seemed really fake and cheesy. 2) the ending. make the ending like the short story. the movie ending was an atrocity. it changed the entire point of the story (from uncertainty to... cruel irony, i guess?) and didn't ring true.

pitch black - 3/5 - good fun movie, like chronicles. a solid monster movie to the solid space opera of chronicles. i like the riddick character, played awesomely by the very handsome vin diesel.

  On 1/16/2011 at 5:04 PM, eugene said:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1386703/

 

colin farrell !!

He's so itching for a comeback vehicle that he'd even sign on to murder this. Although i watched the original the other week and it wasn't so hot either.

  On 1/17/2011 at 9:36 AM, delet... said:

  On 1/16/2011 at 5:04 PM, eugene said:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1386703/

 

 

 

colin farrell !!

 

He's so itching for a comeback vehicle that he'd even sign on to murder this. Although i watched the original the other week and it wasn't so hot either.

Everything about this feels so wrong.

Last Temptation of Christ

badass.

  On 1/16/2011 at 8:50 PM, Awepittance said:

Although nothing can really top The Game for me, Finchers best film by a mile.

qft

  On 1/17/2011 at 1:34 PM, kaen said:

  On 1/16/2011 at 8:50 PM, Awepittance said:

Although nothing can really top The Game for me, Finchers best film by a mile.

qft

doesn't this movie have any flaws???

Last week I saw blade runner (yes, I still had not seen it shame on me ) and it's excellent, it has aged very well. Neon lights + new age ambientation is great.

This vodor guy needs to be banned. He rates Into the Wild and The Road better than The Ghost Writer and The Social Network.

  On 1/17/2011 at 3:45 PM, The Overlook said:

This vodor guy needs to be banned. He rates Into the Wild and The Road better than The Ghost Writer and The Social Network.

they're all in the same trash bag...