A few films recently watched.

imma let you finish

A Serious Man may have been about mental illness, but regardless it's been a while since i've seen a movie that 'rough' about someones whole world collapsing around them. Mental illness brought on by a series of ridiculously overwhelming external circumstances, yes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2XctcZRWyw&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL226DBAE29BB9C244

at no point does he actually 'lose it' michael douglas/falling down style except for on the phone with the Santana Abraxis dude, but i think the movie is ultimately more powerful because of that

Fuck I had a whole reply written up and somehow back buttoned it or something. Mm, at work so I don't have time to rewrite it in full, but basically, no I don't think A Serious Man is about a mentally ill guy, but the entire film kind of exemplifies a kind of mental illness. The Coen's are quite expert at that, which is something which really disturbed me when I first saw Barton Fink. Basically they'll take a common mental state - guilt for being successful/living the good life, fear of being exposed as a fraud, paranoia that "the world is out to get you" - and externalize it, so that you start to wonder if it might actually be true. What if someone really is out to get you, and it's God/The Devil? What if you offended Him accidentally, through no real fault of your own? What if instead of being indifferent, he makes a special point of making the Good suffer? And what if you aren't really Good at all, but a fraud? Personally this has always made me squirm, even though I wasn't raised religious so don't have much of a guilt reflex. In the same way that Brazil made me squirm - they are experts at making a detailed, claustrophobic world that seems like ours but operates according to a tight set of paranoid rules. Basically, what if a very talented mentally ill person could make a great film? This is what the film might look like...(and I guess in the case of Gilliam there's probably a case to be made, the Coen bros don't seem truly mentally ill but they understand the mindset...)

Edit: plus, A Serious Man bears a lot of (more superficial) similarities to Take Shelter, which is probably what called it to mind...

'A Serious Man' has never ever felt like a film about mental illness. Sorry but I have not read your arguments Lumpster, I will after I write this. In my opinion, it is a film about man imprisoned within his own self-deluded world, brought about through his being brought up in a family/world filled with superstition and prejudices. He was always just following orders and never thinking for himself, until he smoked pot and had sex with his neighbor, his redemptive moment. He was always just stuck in a world that did not fit within his reality tunnel and he could not cope with it. He could not adapt. The film taught me that we should always adapt to certain situations and never have too much pride in the way we believe or think. I love this film.

I do agree that a brainwashed individual does have a certain amount of mental illness but that it can be reversed with most people, if they are shown and then believe that what they bought into before were lies. Most Christians are helpless due to the belief in Hell. Such an amazing trick those old bastards created to make most of us fear death. Not only fear of the unknown but fear of possible eternal torture??? Perfect! Now give the church money! Biggest hoax ever. Hel comes from Norse mythology. Hell was never mentioned by Jesus in the gospels. Dante invented our conception of hell through an epic poem. Stop believing in Hell if you do!!!!! FOR FUCKS SAKE!!!!!!!

edit: so we agree for the most part lumpy

2nd edit: there is no way Zaphod enjoyed 'Gladiator'. Fuck that film in its dumb ass.

lol Atop, sometimes we disagree but lately I've been agreeing with you a lot. And yeah the love for Gladiator has baffled me ever since I saw it in the theater...for one, the cgi is cringe-worthy...BUT I did really enjoy the whole intro sequence, where Joaquin Phoenix kills his dad. Not sure if I would think it was over the top now...but it affected me at the time. After that the film goes downhill from what I remember...

  On 4/5/2012 at 5:23 AM, Atop said:

2nd edit: there is no way Zaphod enjoyed 'Gladiator'. Fuck that film in its dumb ass.

Do you honestly think that post was even remotely serious? Holy fucking shit. Last post.

I did not and that is why I said you did not enjoy it!

Last Post as well!

I will have the last post here!

edit: Y'all really like MMMM? I thought the editing was really awkward, but overall it was decent. The cult stuff wasn't weird enough, really. Like a 7/10, maybe.

1st post of the new, better me

  On 4/5/2012 at 3:09 AM, lumpenprol said:

Fuck I had a whole reply written up and somehow back buttoned it or something. Mm, at work so I don't have time to rewrite it in full, but basically, no I don't think A Serious Man is about a mentally ill guy, but the entire film kind of exemplifies a kind of mental illness. The Coen's are quite expert at that, which is something which really disturbed me when I first saw Barton Fink. Basically they'll take a common mental state - guilt for being successful/living the good life, fear of being exposed as a fraud, paranoia that "the world is out to get you" - and externalize it, so that you start to wonder if it might actually be true. What if someone really is out to get you, and it's God/The Devil? What if you offended Him accidentally, through no real fault of your own? What if instead of being indifferent, he makes a special point of making the Good suffer? And what if you aren't really Good at all, but a fraud? Personally this has always made me squirm, even though I wasn't raised religious so don't have much of a guilt reflex. In the same way that Brazil made me squirm - they are experts at making a detailed, claustrophobic world that seems like ours but operates according to a tight set of paranoid rules. Basically, what if a very talented mentally ill person could make a great film? This is what the film might look like...(and I guess in the case of Gilliam there's probably a case to be made, the Coen bros don't seem truly mentally ill but they understand the mindset...)

 

Edit: plus, A Serious Man bears a lot of (more superficial) similarities to Take Shelter, which is probably what called it to mind...

great commentary, someday i want to make a film while in the midst of a mentally ill state. I do think from what i know about the Coen's behind the scenes lives, they don't seem 'normal'. Joel seems pretty normal, dude has a wife and i think kids now but Ethan seriously seems to have a mild form of autism. My friend worked at a gym in NY and he said that out of all his customers, Ethan Coen who was a regular was one of the most awkward and socially inept customers he's ever dealt with. Nobody ever recognized him, so it wasn't like he was afraid of some dudes yelling 'HEY ETHAN COEN WHAT THE FUCK IS UP BROTHER'

and in regards to Barton Fink, what's so goddam great about that film is for all Barton's narcissistic(or real world projected) delusions he was NOT a good writer, his work was cliche crap.

I recieved a family members HBOgo info and got it working on my xbox. It's pretty sweet. So far I've watched Bridesmaids (7/10) and Gulliver's travels (5/10). It has all of The Wire, so I'm going to start that show soon.

  On 4/5/2012 at 9:24 AM, cloud capture said:

It has all of The Wire, so I'm going to start that show soon.

You will resurface, about a week or so from now, as a new man.

moneyball - kinda good, but:

a) i don't get baseball

b) it was way too slow (EPIC)

c) brad pitt is barely an actor

  On 4/5/2012 at 6:34 AM, Awepittance said:

Joel seems pretty normal, dude has a wife and i think kids now but Ethan seriously seems to have a mild form of autism.

they both look and act like autistic stoners when you watch an interview with them.

today is movie day for me, i guess.

thx 1138 - finally something to my liking. was expecting it to look like dark star, lo-fi and campy, but it's nothing but - cold, sterile nd distant. but that may be due to restoration which also brought crappy 90s games computer generated special effects. either way, some great 70s sci-fi.

  On 4/5/2012 at 6:26 PM, kinski said:

today is movie day for me, i guess.

 

thx 1138 - finally something to my liking. was expecting it to look like dark star, lo-fi and campy, but it's nothing but - cold, sterile nd distant. but that may be due to restoration which also brought crappy 90s games computer generated special effects. either way, some great 70s sci-fi.

Yeah I must of watched the pre-restoration version. "Sterile" is a perfect word to describe it. There's such an absence of context and back story that makes the film even more disturbing. I was required to read Ayn Rand's Anthem in high school (and the only time I will ever read any of her work btw) which has a very vague and cold setting, and the extreme absence of individuality and absolute control seems similar - to the point where brainwashing and fear isn't needed, everyone is essentially a work drone.

  On 3/27/2012 at 10:40 PM, delet... said:

  On 3/27/2012 at 7:37 PM, Awepittance said:

my mom said Hunger Games was like if someone took Running Man and Battle Royale and mixed it with a shit watered down teen movie like Twilight

 

plus muthafuking 1 to you mum.

I found that more of a tolerable statement coming from your mom (especially since she acknowledged both films) but I'm quite annoyed with that popular "criticism." Every comment and dismissal I see saying it's like Battle Royalre isn't a clever observation, it's simply stating "derp! I know of popular Japanese media and you don't!" Some kids are forced to kill kids, that's the only common feature. Then the same snarky nerds throw in the Twilight insult. I will say the trailers and intended fanbase probably cross-over, but of course a big studio would play up the connection. And the sinister "game" aspect is similar to Running Man.

After blowing through the books I anticipated the films with a lot of excitement and caution and I was shocked by how much I liked it. Even the expected tone-down violence wasn't bad - the lack of gore made the death scenes more disturbing (it's kids stabbing kids after all). Casting was pretty decent all around. The next books get quite fucked up, hopefully the tone will match that in the films. Glad to see other WATMMers enjoyed it or at least thought it was "ok"

gotta love it when "it didn't suck" is the best compliment most commercial movies can get nowadays.

"I'm thinking about going to see the hunger games, most people and reviews say it doesn't suck".

Watched Outrage by Takeshi Kitano. I loved Zatoichi The Blind Swordsman by the same guy. Outrage though was pretty crappy. I can't recommend it.

  On 4/5/2012 at 6:26 PM, kinski said:

today is movie day for me, i guess.

 

thx 1138 - finally something to my liking. was expecting it to look like dark star, lo-fi and campy, but it's nothing but - cold, sterile nd distant. but that may be due to restoration which also brought crappy 90s games computer generated special effects. either way, some great 70s sci-fi.

I take it you saw the remastered version? Even the original unrelucased version looked like an 80's film that was made in the 70's.

I say 'unrelucased' but the trimming up in this film does actually make it a better film.

Essential Killing - didnt know what to expect from this film other than it staring Vincent Gallo. Excellent well made film with Gallo keeping you going all the way. 8.5/10

Been watching a lot of movies recently

Mary and Max- One of the most fucked up "kid's movies" out there. I wouldn't even consider it a kids movie, it is animated but all the colors in the movie are either gray, black, or brown. Unique film but the subject matter is something a lot of us can relate to at least a little bit. Had some funny dark comedy parts. All in all i'm glad i watched it but I will not bring myself to watch it again. 8/10

The Departed- Not Martin's best but pretty good. It felt a bit long and repetitive in the middle but the ending is why you watch the movie. One of the best endings for a crime drama that I've ever seen. Very ironic plot and all the actors are great in it, some really big names. My one gripe about the movie is the original score, the acoustic guitar just didn't fit in with the movie. All the other music is great though. 9/10

Good Will Hunting- I was expecting a bit more out of this movie but it was still good. The one problem with this movie is that it's too predictable. The dialogue is great considering this is Matt Damon/Ben Afleck's first screenplay. I love the moments when Matt Damon is talking at a million miles an hour spilling out all this knowledge he's accumulated. 7.5/10

  On 4/4/2012 at 1:40 AM, The Overlook said:

Same goes for There Will Be Blood. I respect actors as much for what they don't do and Day-Lewis does too much IMHO.

 

 

Yeah I don't really agree with this. I'm too worn out to write a rebuttal but here is an article (it's a bit pretentious but meh) that basically sums up my thoughts. http://www.shaviro.com/Blog/?p=623

It's an easy performance to dismiss, but I think it really is one of the best of the last decade.

saw the help had the disc from netflix for ages just couldnt face watching it despite hearing a few good things. and you know what it was ok. i didnt really know much about segregation in the 60s before the civil rights movement. yes i was uneducated but i'm not american so whatever. can't say i would recommend it but it was alright.

  On 4/5/2012 at 8:42 PM, zaphod said:

  On 4/4/2012 at 1:40 AM, The Overlook said:

Same goes for There Will Be Blood. I respect actors as much for what they don't do and Day-Lewis does too much IMHO.

 

 

 

Yeah I don't really agree with this. I'm too worn out to write a rebuttal but here is an article (it's a bit pretentious but meh) that basically sums up my thoughts. http://www.shaviro.com/Blog/?p=623

 

It's an easy performance to dismiss, but I think it really is one of the best of the last decade.

Challenge accepted and I really look forward to it. I saw TWBB once only and that's not good enough for a film of its length and reputation. I will watch again with fresh eyes and read the essay you linked.

My Best Fiend - Klaus Kinski (1999) - I knew Kinski was mad but I had no idea he was this mad, I feel sorry for those poor indian extras. Very interesting documentary, quite humorous.

  On 4/5/2012 at 4:10 PM, kinski said:

  On 4/5/2012 at 6:34 AM, Awepittance said:

Joel seems pretty normal, dude has a wife and i think kids now but Ethan seriously seems to have a mild form of autism.

 

they both look and act like autistic stoners when you watch an interview with them.

this is entirely true actually, the last interview i saw with them (on charlie rose) was with Richard Kind from A Serious Man (who also plays larry's brother on curb your enthusiasum) and the Coens were so un-talkative that Kind took over the entire interview

sometimes it helps to be a narcissistic show-off prick like Sasha Baron Coen, maybe the academy would have let them put a fake actor on stand by for the Fargo & No Country editing nomination.

http://www.vulture.c...inary_osca.html