A few films recently watched.

probably the most useful information Michael Moore has spread in a long time, if it wasn't for him I probably would have never heard of Anvil. he praised the shit out of it about 7 months ago on his website, basically said its the best documentary ever made

  On 10/16/2009 at 10:18 PM, Awepittance said:

probably the most useful information Michael Moore has spread in a long time, if it wasn't for him I probably would have never heard of Anvil. he praised the shit out of it about 7 months ago on his website, basically said its the best documentary ever made

I don't agree to it being the best documentary ever made, but it's on my list of best, easily. Roger & Me and The Big One are also on that list while Fahrenheit 911 is on my list of worst.

the only part i remember in the Big One is when he goes and visits the CEO of Nike who is a total douche, i should probably see it again.

bit disappointed with Malibu Express to be honest. Hard Ticket to Hawaii is a hard film to beat. Maybe unbeatable. Gonna check out Savage Beach next. Dona Speir and Hope Marie Carlton return as Donna and Taryn which is a good sign.

you have the breast taste in film LUDD

  On 10/16/2009 at 7:56 AM, Z_B_Z said:

i just downloaded this and am extremely psyched to watch it. the fuckers three hours long too!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMP-k_j8QWU

so, is it worth checking out?

Ferris Bueller's Day Off, with Matthew Broderick. Bloody brilliant if only for the "Life moves pretty fast" sample used by Chameleon

thing i remember about seeing Ferris Bueller's Day Off at 12 yrs old was when he talks directly to the camera. That was the first time I saw an actor break the 4th wall and it weirded me out.

I just watched "9" (the animated stitch-punk flick). Some beautiful designs let down by a conventional story and strangely repetitive fight sequences. Still liked the look of the whole thing. 7/10

  On 10/17/2009 at 3:27 AM, mrx said:

  On 10/16/2009 at 7:56 AM, Z_B_Z said:

i just downloaded this and am extremely psyched to watch it. the fuckers three hours long too!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMP-k_j8QWU

so, is it worth checking out?

indeed it is. a nice long history of kraftwerk and krautrock in general. very well put together.

Groundhog Day - not as good as it could have been

Inglorious Basterds: 9/10

Zombieland: 6.5/10

Whip It: 8/10

There is a song by Flying Lotus in Whip It, omg!

the damned united

great football flick - 7/10

seemed like some people here were watching the series Dexter, so I figured I'd give it a shot and bought the boxset, so far not feeling it. So I went for a complete change of pace and went back and watched Totoro and Spirited Away. Spirited Away is such an amazing film, certainly in my top 10 list. I cried 3 times. Why can't Pixar understand that you can't evoke an emotional response from your audience by browbeating them? Instead they give us the opening sequence to "Up", with vomitous shit like the husband and wife putting their painted handprints on the mailbox, and her not being able to walk up the hill with him because she's so sick. The only time they've tried a more subtle approach, with the beginning of wall-e, it paid off so I don't see why they don't experiment more with real feelings, as opposed to cliches that the masses agree should represent feelings.

I feel ya on the pixar thing. It seems they're taking the easy way.

On the other hand, I think Dexter is ace (haven't seen new season yet).

I'm about to watch Inland Empire. I've been putting it off for a year lol...

does Dexter get better? I've only watched 3 episodes or so now. It just seems like the concept is doomed to failure beyond its initial shock and titillation value. Everything just seems so formulaic to me now. The recipe seems to be: "take socially unacceptable behavior that has titillation value, then find good actors to humanize it enough so that the viewer's conscience can be soothed at the same time they are titillated."

Almost every fucking drama follows this formula now (bear in mind I haven't watched many of these):

Sopranos (socially unacceptable behavior: organized crime) + cuddly father figure wrestles with conscience and family

Six Feet Under (socially unacceptable profession: mortuary services) + family drama, existential stuff

Weeds (socially unacceptable behavior: drug use) + middle-class life

Big Love (socially unacceptable behavior: polygamy) + "but guess what, it's not all it's cut out to be"

Hung (socially unacceptable behavior: prostitution) + sopranos formula of loveable character (I presume)

Dexter (socially unacceptable behavior: serial kiling) + but he's a cop trying to control his urges

etc, etc, etc, ad nauseum.

There's only so far this can go. I'm waiting for the one on Shanghai prostitution. But then, I guess I'll be writing that.

this is why I watch Lost...

I see no formula except, mystery, continuous mystery....

and better writing than most shows...

  On 10/18/2009 at 9:21 AM, lumpenprol said:

does Dexter get better? I've only watched 3 episodes or so now. It just seems like the concept is doomed to failure beyond its initial shock and titillation value. Everything just seems so formulaic to me now. The recipe seems to be: "take socially unacceptable behavior that has titillation value, then find good actors to humanize it enough so that the viewer's conscience can be soothed at the same time they are titillated."

 

Almost every fucking drama follows this formula now (bear in mind I haven't watched many of these):

Sopranos (socially unacceptable behavior: organized crime) + cuddly father figure wrestles with conscience and family

Six Feet Under (socially unacceptable profession: mortuary services) + family drama, existential stuff

Weeds (socially unacceptable behavior: drug use) + middle-class life

Big Love (socially unacceptable behavior: polygamy) + "but guess what, it's not all it's cut out to be"

Hung (socially unacceptable behavior: prostitution) + sopranos formula of loveable character (I presume)

Dexter (socially unacceptable behavior: serial kiling) + but he's a cop trying to control his urges

etc, etc, etc, ad nauseum.

 

There's only so far this can go. I'm waiting for the one on Shanghai prostitution. But then, I guess I'll be writing that.

to be fair, sopranos created this formula and still stands as a great show.

I tried watching Dexter and the performances alone made me hate it.

I watched Shinning yesterday for the first time and it made quite an impression on me. Good ol' Jack Nicholson is great.

i saw a pretty cool documentary on ayahuasca directed by the guy who did that. he denounced it as "juvenile" or "infantile" or something to that effect. guess the hallucinogens left their mark on him. never did end up seeing it tho.

  On 10/18/2009 at 5:20 PM, gaarg said:

I watched Shinning yesterday for the first time and it made quite an impression on me. Good ol' Jack Nicholson is great.

check out Chinatown. another good performance by nicholson

drag me to hell: wicked

zombieland: kinda lame, 6.5

  On 10/18/2009 at 3:43 PM, Z_B_Z said:

to be fair, sopranos created this formula and still stands as a great show.

agreed

  On 10/18/2009 at 4:38 PM, The Overlook said:

I tried watching Dexter and the performances alone made me hate it.

yeah the black/mixed race police chief chick is godawful, like Acting 101 bad. Writing is bad too. Really makes you miss a series as generally well-written as the Sopranos.

Inland Empire - 8/10

Goddamn.

*wipes forehead*

Goddamn.

This one had me fucked up for 2 hours after it was over, meaning a 7 am bed time. I didn't know so many stars had participated in this film. To say I understand every bit of this after the 1st viewing would be a lie, but it wasn't as hard to follow as I thought. Lynch's deliberately obtuse abstractions in this film make even Eraserhead pale in comparison. I loved it. The DV format worked REALLY well for this film, giving it an immediacy and gritty realness that typically only documentaries have. This will definitely be my next DVD purchase. I'm going to stop before diarrhea of the fingers kicks in.

Mullholland Drive is still better.