A few films recently watched.

  On 3/7/2012 at 9:10 PM, takeshi said:

The Secret World of Arriety - 5/10 - I never read the book it's based on but it felt like the story had just started to get interesting when the movie ended. The beginning of the film felt very slow, so much that it felt a bit disconnected from the rest. There are also a few other things (disappearing and reappearing characters, unclear motivations) that make me think maybe the American version was truncated. But one of the biggest offences in the film is the music. There's a theme song that plays throughout the film that is just such awful treacle, sung by a twelve year old. Made me miss Joe Hisaishi's scores for Miyazaki's films. Also, it could be me but the animation at the beginning seemed noticeably sloppier than the rest of the film.

i don't understand why they didnt call it "the borrowers" as the title they went with sucks B's. haven't seen the film yet, ponyo made me realize that studio ghibbli(?) films work best at home

Take Shelter

a strange one. i knew the ending as I had been spoiled so I had a different experience to other people i think. even so the ending was awful. it was so brief. all that build up and then...oh.

i kinda hated it after watching but then today I like it more. probably wouldn't rate it above a 6 though. obviously anything with michael shannon is worth a watch. also tree of life redhead girl.

  On 2/14/2012 at 3:10 PM, xxx said:

  On 2/13/2012 at 2:26 PM, Blue Peter Cheat said:

  On 2/12/2012 at 7:57 AM, YO303 said:

Take Shelter - great film, great acting. The ending was meh (i have nothing agaInst illogical and fantastic endings but i would have been a much happier costumer without the final scene) - 8.3/10

 

I agree. 7.5/10.

 

 

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That last few minutes sent it down from an 8.5/10.

Devalued everything that went before.

 

I prefer Shotgun Stories, mainly due to the lack of bullshit sci-fi ending.

 

 

 

Alright, I think this is a common complaint and it was one for me too until I thought about it more closely. The ultimate narrative is about how mental illness is not an over-the-top Anthony Hopkins kind of situation. A "crazy" person does not become so in a vacuum; there are real stresses and fears that trigger the symptoms. Worse still, it's never all-or-nothing. There are always varying shades of how irrational a delusion might be or the appropriateness of the responses.

spoilers ahead

 

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I happened to take the ending literally. When the Deepwater Horizon event went down in the Gulf, a hurricane developed soon after and there was a real fear that it would take up the oily waters and thrash coastal areas with oil. I don't know if this ever went down but it doesn't matter because the viciousness of mental illness is that it will take rational fears and explode them into the realm of the fantastic until they become paralytic. Tornadoes and "oily rain" were not impossible on Myrtle Beach at a time like that. The dividing lines between a nagging anxiety disorder and full-blown paranoid schizophrenia are much finer than people realize. So, when he looked to his wife and she nodded, she was signalling that it was not a hallucination and it became a metaphor for how chronic mental illness is dealt with. Recovery hinges on friends and family providing constant feedback so a sufferer knows where the disorder begins and ends.

 

Alas, I was profoundly moved by the whole movie and give it an easy 10/10 but that's because I'm "in the business" regarding psychiatry. If I were to view it through an objective lens, I'd probably call "bullshit" on the whole affair and, indeed, the same could be applied to my analysis. It was never going to be a cut-and-dry finish though see also: Sopranos series end

 

ah yes I kinda ignored the oily rain. it does link it to the oil spill.

they tried to jam in lots of current topics too - gas prices when he fills up his truck. economic recession when he tries to get a loan.

my biggest disapointment i think was how it ended before anything could actually happen. no payoff.

  On 3/8/2012 at 12:33 AM, Benedict Cumberbatch said:

  On 3/7/2012 at 9:10 PM, takeshi said:

The Secret World of Arriety - 5/10 - I never read the book it's based on but it felt like the story had just started to get interesting when the movie ended. The beginning of the film felt very slow, so much that it felt a bit disconnected from the rest. There are also a few other things (disappearing and reappearing characters, unclear motivations) that make me think maybe the American version was truncated. But one of the biggest offences in the film is the music. There's a theme song that plays throughout the film that is just such awful treacle, sung by a twelve year old. Made me miss Joe Hisaishi's scores for Miyazaki's films. Also, it could be me but the animation at the beginning seemed noticeably sloppier than the rest of the film.

 

i don't understand why they didnt call it "the borrowers" as the title they went with sucks B's. haven't seen the film yet, ponyo made me realize that studio ghibbli(?) films work best at home

I was confused too. Apparently, it's a well known book...? I'd have to agree about watching Studio Ghibli films at home. Probably didn't help my opinion of this film that I saw 'My Neighbor Totoro' days before. Also, in general, if a Studio Ghibli film isn't written and directed by Miyazaki it's safe to lower my expectations a bit.

48 Hours - 8.5/10 - Caught this again the other day on television. This has to be an early prototype of the modern buddy/cop film. It shows because it doesn't seem as tired and cliched as the genre has become. There's a noir-ish atmosphere that Walter Hill brought to this film and the other films he made around this time (like 'The Warriors') that I really respond to, even today. It's just the right combination of urban decay with a sense of menacing brutality behind it. The violence is the movie isn't pretty or operatic, it's shocking and disturbing. It's the kind of world I'd expect to read about in a crime novel.

  On 3/8/2012 at 12:39 AM, Benedict Cumberbatch said:

Take Shelter

a strange one. i knew the ending as I had been spoiled so I had a different experience to other people i think. even so the ending was awful. it was so brief. all that build up and then...oh.

 

 

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tbh i couldn't really tell what was there. 2 tornados? a tsunami? all i could see was a sandy ocean. cgi fail.

 

so there are 2 possible meanings:

 

1. he is a prophet and not crazy and the storm was coming

2. he is crazy but his family has accepted that (getting him help/sending him away) and entered his storm dream as accepting rather than opposing elements

 

1 makes most sense

 

 

 

i kinda hated it after watching but then today I like it more. probably wouldn't rate it above a 6 though. obviously anything with michael shannon is worth a watch. also tree of life redhead girl.

edit: oops i suppose that should go in a spoiler tag

Amer. stylistic film with allot of closeups and shot collages, there's not much dialogue but the cinematography basically shows the development of a girl in 3 parts. erotic and grotesque throughout.

anyway, i recommend people watch it, tis very good

reel injun - 10/10, THAT is how you make a fucking documentary. i loved everything about it. made me really kind of sad that i dont have any connection to my native heritage. ah well. c'est la vie.

i think we're alone now - 8.5/10, about two very fucked up people who are utterly obsessed with the 80s superstar Tiffany. horrifying, horrifying people. nightmare fuel.

mr. death - 9/10 fred leuchter is a cunt. errol morris is great.

blood in the face - 8.5/10 raaaaaaaaaacists suck. see above.

being elmo - 7.5/10 eh. elmo is the worst muppet and the documentary itself wasnt very interesting.

transylvania 6-5000 - 3/10 oh my god how can a movie starring jeff goldblum, geena davis, michael richards, and ed begley jr. wherein they are searching for frankenstein be so fucking terrible?

atomic cafe - 9/10, wow im glad the cold war is over. i wish no nukes existed. they frighten me.

REPO MAN - so fucking goooooooood. it's like two movies at one - one with foulmouth, morale-lacking repo men and one with b-class sci-fi story about a car with alien remains - that eventually clash together in a climax. it's the 1984 one, not the 2010 whateverthatwas.

  On 3/9/2012 at 8:10 AM, disparaissant said:

i think we're alone now - 8.5/10, about two very fucked up people who are utterly obsessed with the 80s superstar Tiffany. horrifying, horrifying people. nightmare fuel.

fucking hell, the trailer alone creeps me the hell out

  On 3/9/2012 at 1:05 PM, kinski said:

REPO MAN - so fucking goooooooood. it's like two movies at one - one with foulmouth, morale-lacking repo men and one with b-class sci-fi story about a car with alien remains - that eventually clash together in a climax. it's the 1984 one, not the 2010 whateverthatwas.

I just watched this again on Monday. It is so fucking great. 9.75/10

Never heard of the 2010 film. Don't think I want to.

  On 3/9/2012 at 2:26 PM, data said:

  On 3/9/2012 at 8:10 AM, disparaissant said:

i think we're alone now - 8.5/10, about two very fucked up people who are utterly obsessed with the 80s superstar Tiffany. horrifying, horrifying people. nightmare fuel.

 

fucking hell, the trailer alone creeps me the hell out

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MxXqF-fgJY

film titles with apostrophes don't really read the same as urls do they?

anyway this looks depressing as hell. avoiding

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i watched Page One last night a documentary about the New York Times and the changing media landscape. tbh it wasn't very interesting. only thing that was interesting was david carr is a fascinating guy and it was good to see behind the scenes how they decide what is big news and what isn't. otherwise it felt long.

hugo - 8/10

les maitres du temps - 7,5/10

nausica of the valley of the wind - 7,5/10

this must be the place - 7/10

american the bill hicks story - didn't knew a thing about this guy except a draw of him in aenema album 7/10

puss in boots - 6/10

high road - awkward but pretty ok/10

the grey - really?/10

the man from the future - tired unoriginal script but brazilian actors always do it more truthful/10

the muppets - couldn't get past 5 minutes/10

the woman in black - good editing/sound mixing creating lots of scares, there's not much to it though/10

machine gun preacher - perfect timing? coincidence?/10

columbus circle - started well with a lynchian touch but derailed after that/10

goon - needs more gore/10

wizards - i watched this based on the fantasy movies thread, one thing is sci-fi and other thing is magic, i hate magic and lotr and perry hotter/10

heavy metal - american rubbish/10

the sitter - pretty bad/10

miss bala - .../10

the awakening - .../10

Upper post: 7.5/10

  On 3/9/2012 at 6:57 PM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

the muppets - couldn't get past 5 minutes/10

there is no joy in your heart. your sir are dead inside

that's from reel injun, its really goddamn good dammit

  On 3/9/2012 at 7:27 PM, Benedict Cumberbatch said:

  On 3/9/2012 at 6:57 PM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

the muppets - couldn't get past 5 minutes/10

 

there is no joy in your heart. your sir are dead inside

guess I am too. I couldn't stand the first 5 minutes either.

  On 3/9/2012 at 7:27 PM, Benedict Cumberbatch said:

  On 3/9/2012 at 6:57 PM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

the muppets - couldn't get past 5 minutes/10

 

there is no joy in your heart. your sir are dead inside

I don't even want to try and watch the first 5 minutes

The Artist - 8/10. Enjoyable.

Bad Teacher - 7/10. Much funnier than I expected, with lots of very funny subtle things.

  On 3/9/2012 at 7:38 PM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

  On 3/9/2012 at 7:27 PM, Benedict Cumberbatch said:

  On 3/9/2012 at 6:57 PM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

the muppets - couldn't get past 5 minutes/10

 

there is no joy in your heart. your sir are dead inside

i'll give it another try, i just wasn't in the mood...

  On 3/9/2012 at 7:38 PM, LUDD said:

I don't even want to try and watch the first 5 minutes

You are both joyless pieces of shit, thanks for your time here on earth, go back to the moon where it is cold and barren, finally you can enjoy nothing except the sight of earth and being blinded by the sun, hurry while there is still time!

You can actually stay LUDD, but you sick sick fuck Michael Jackson. GET OFF OF OUR PLANET YOU SEMEN FILLED DEMON!

This is not directed at Benedict in anyway at all.

is the child inside you dead? or just have better taste than the one inside me?

That fucking song though.

If that's in the film no wonder you'd wanna avoid it.

when i tried to get a child inside me everyone called me a freak...

and just like karl pilington said, i rather be on the moon looking back at earth than on earth looking at the moon, wanna bet who has the best view???

Michael Jackson is dead to me, and the rest of the world.

I don't know if you were talking to me Andy. Your inner and outer child are alive and well. We are equal in this fact.

kewl story bra