Films Recently Watched

The narrative was at its most compelling point about a fourth of the way into the film before it decided to became forcible with its conclusion. The relationship between Jake and his gf was on speed while we saw very little character development with any of the characters. The only thing unfolding over this period of time was more disturbing behavior by the Cartels which led nowhere other than an unrealistic and unsatisfying climatic conclusion. And while realism isn't something required in a film at all, this film was portraying itself as a documentary or as realistic events, so the ending felt even more absurd. Instead of continuing with a format that is less epic and guns blazing, we realize everything was just building up to a moment where we are supposed to feel sorry for the two cops. Absolutely no grey areas. The bad guys were stupid and evil and they supposedly had to kill these two cops because they conveniently always pick the calls that led them to some huge jackpot. Or how about the guy who randomly tries to shoot the cops when pulled over? He wasn't pulled over for anything serious, therefore could have easily just talked his way out of it. At least if I understand the law correctly. So yeah, two cops, right place and right time with good reflexes eventually fall right into a trap, but somehow manage to avoid 4 machine guns over a period of 3-5 seconds but for no real purpose other than a 10 minute 'climax' of guns to which they escape but then basically get killed because well its the end of the movie and one of the two have to die so we have a funeral and can shed a tear for their families. And for what? Well they killed some low-life cartel people that were gonna get killed anyway if they failed their mission

Sorry the more I think about this, the more it stinks. But I think the concept could be used for something good, cause the camerawork was successful at adding a ominous tone to each house they investigated etc etc

  On 1/29/2013 at 12:25 AM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

 

  On 1/29/2013 at 12:04 AM, Jimmy McMessageboard said:

The Shining

the black guy does nothing and then dies so white people can survive

lol

The criticisms of Wendy and the performance by Duvall are subjective but even I think they have merit. This nonsense about the "black guy" reveals your own shallow reading, not a fault in Kubrick.

With that said...if you ever find yourself making the mistake of shit-talking The Shining, here are some of the extraordinary things about the movie to consider:

• Kubrick's manipulation of the tension and slippage between the supernatural (borrowing from Tzvetan Todorov's definition of the Fantastic) and the uncanny (see also: Psycho). E.g. Did the ghost of O'Grady let him out of the freezer? Did the final shot of the film reveal Jack as a reincarnated echo from the past? DELICIOUS!
• The awareness in the King source of the generational division between literature and moving images (ironically emphasized by the King fans bleating out the "book better than movie!" verdict) is manifest perfectly through the cameras' incessant probing of the labyrinthine Overlook Hotel as Jack Torrance fails to write more than a sentence...
• Re: The Black Guy This was my personal favorite decision by Kubrick, a direct assault on all things Stephen King and centrist liberal Hollywood, was to plant an axe in the chest of Dick Halloran, the fabled magic negro, before he could mammy Wendy and Danny and restore the nuclear family. Historically, when black men intervene where deranged white men and their wives are concerned, they're hanged, castrated, burned, or all of the above. If only Jack's mighty axe could have found its way into The Stand, The Green Mile, or The Shawshank Redemption! Danny must do without a patriarch, evil or benevolent, and blacks get nowhere through assimilationist narratives among white males preoccupied with their class/role in a postcolonial sense. By that measure, it could be argued that Kubrick's rendering of The Shining is indeed radical.

halloran has the greatest apartment in cinematic history.

  On 1/29/2013 at 12:43 AM, zaphod said:

halloran has the greatest apartment in cinematic history.

lol and that...

BOOBS

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And while realism isn't something required in a film at all, this film was portraying itself as a documentary or as realistic events, so the ending felt even more absurd.

One thing that was pretty pointless was Gyllenhall carrying around a camcorder. Theres some strand where he's meant to be a punk ass documentary maker or something. The film itself itself was shot in a documentary style so unless gyllenhall's camcorder is the only POV we are seeing things from there doesn't seem to be any need for it.

lol, bye bye Overlook

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One thing that was pretty pointless was Gyllenhall carrying around a camcorder. Theres some strand where he's meant to be a punk ass documentary maker or something. The film itself itself was shot in a documentary style so unless gyllenhall's camcorder is the only POV we are seeing things from there doesn't seem to be any need for it.

That's being generous, but let's be a bit more honest. It was fucking retarded.

In a stupid movie like Chronicle, it was a bit more forgivable. With End of Watch, just...stop it. That idea should have never survived the first re-write.

  On 1/29/2013 at 1:03 AM, lumpenprol said:

lol, bye bye Overlook

What are you talking about?

The Joyrex Baptist version of WATMM really does suck.

i want to see the overlook write a cum soaked thesis about the steven weber version of the shining. i think we can all agree that it's the definitive telling of the tale.

  On 1/29/2013 at 1:10 AM, zaphod said:

i want to see the overlook write a cum soaked thesis about the steven weber version of the shining. i think we can all agree that it's the definitive telling of the tale.

You know, it's funny, I caught that for the first time just two years ago. At first, I couldn't even finish it, not because it was so bad. Rather, it just wasn't bad enough. It was bad and boring.

I dont see whats radical about a white guy axing an old black guy in the chest wouldnt it be more radical the other way round ? they shoulda had dick halloran roll up to the hotel then axe jack , danny and wendy for ruining his holidays

also if dick was just there to make a point about black people did they really have to spend 15 + minutes showing you his journey to the hotel ? I mean what the fuck was the point

the brilliance of the garris/king version is encapsulated in courtland mead's performance as danny. here we see the spectator as central character, impossibly large mouth eternally open, dumbfounded, subject to a mirror in which the viewer is his own reflection.

  On 1/29/2013 at 1:32 AM, zaphod said:

subject to a mirror in which the viewer is his own reflection.

Watching There Will Be Blood again, is there a reason Greenwood hasn't done a score for anyone else other than PTA? He's quite good at it.

  On 1/29/2013 at 12:33 AM, compson said:

The narrative was at its most compelling point about a fourth of the way into the film before it decided to became forcible with its conclusion. The relationship between Jake and his gf was on speed while we saw very little character development with any of the characters. The only thing unfolding over this period of time was more disturbing behavior by the Cartels which led nowhere other than an unrealistic and unsatisfying climatic conclusion. And while realism isn't something required in a film at all, this film was portraying itself as a documentary or as realistic events, so the ending felt even more absurd. Instead of continuing with a format that is less epic and guns blazing, we realize everything was just building up to a moment where we are supposed to feel sorry for the two cops. Absolutely no grey areas. The bad guys were stupid and evil and they supposedly had to kill these two cops because they conveniently always pick the calls that led them to some huge jackpot. Or how about the guy who randomly tries to shoot the cops when pulled over? He wasn't pulled over for anything serious, therefore could have easily just talked his way out of it. At least if I understand the law correctly. So yeah, two cops, right place and right time with good reflexes eventually fall right into a trap, but somehow manage to avoid 4 machine guns over a period of 3-5 seconds but for no real purpose other than a 10 minute 'climax' of guns to which they escape but then basically get killed because well its the end of the movie and one of the two have to die so we have a funeral and can shed a tear for their families. And for what? Well they killed some low-life cartel people that were gonna get killed anyway if they failed their mission

 

Sorry the more I think about this, the more it stinks. But I think the concept could be used for something good, cause the camerawork was successful at adding a ominous tone to each house they investigated etc etc

well, you're right, but damn, i could pick on stuff like that on almost every movie i watch, even godfather, lol, what a piece of shitty crap blockbuster...

  On 1/29/2013 at 12:35 AM, The Overlook said:

 

  On 1/29/2013 at 12:25 AM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

 

  On 1/29/2013 at 12:04 AM, Jimmy McMessageboard said:

The Shining

the black guy does nothing and then dies so white people can survive

lol

 

The criticisms of Wendy and the performance by Duvall are subjective but even I think they have merit. This nonsense about the "black guy" reveals your own shallow reading, not a fault in Kubrick.

i do know you know it was a joke so i don't know what you know that makes it unknown...

  On 1/29/2013 at 12:43 AM, zaphod said:

halloran has the greatest apartment in cinematic history.

such a great slow reveal too/

  On 1/29/2013 at 12:35 AM, The Overlook said:

 

  On 1/29/2013 at 12:25 AM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

 

  On 1/29/2013 at 12:04 AM, Jimmy McMessageboard said:

The Shining

the black guy does nothing and then dies so white people can survive

lol

 

The criticisms of Wendy and the performance by Duvall are subjective but even I think they have merit. This nonsense about the "black guy" reveals your own shallow reading, not a fault in Kubrick.

With that said...if you ever find yourself making the mistake of shit-talking The Shining, here are some of the extraordinary things about the movie to consider:

• Kubrick's manipulation of the tension and slippage between the supernatural (borrowing from Tzvetan Todorov's definition of the Fantastic) and the uncanny (see also: Psycho). E.g. Did the ghost of O'Grady let him out of the freezer? Did the final shot of the film reveal Jack as a reincarnated echo from the past? DELICIOUS!
• The awareness in the King source of the generational division between literature and moving images (ironically emphasized by the King fans bleating out the "book better than movie!" verdict) is manifest perfectly through the cameras' incessant probing of the labyrinthine Overlook Hotel as Jack Torrance fails to write more than a sentence...
• Re: The Black Guy This was my personal favorite decision by Kubrick, a direct assault on all things Stephen King and centrist liberal Hollywood, was to plant an axe in the chest of Dick Halloran, the fabled magic negro, before he could mammy Wendy and Danny and restore the nuclear family. Historically, when black men intervene where deranged white men and their wives are concerned, they're hanged, castrated, burned, or all of the above. If only Jack's mighty axe could have found its way into The Stand, The Green Mile, or The Shawshank Redemption! Danny must do without a patriarch, evil or benevolent, and blacks get nowhere through assimilationist narratives among white males preoccupied with their class/role in a postcolonial sense. By that measure, it could be argued that Kubrick's rendering of The Shining is indeed radical.

i typed "scatman" first but I think the point that he is a black man is more important to his character than anything else.

his only role seems to be the only person killed and they need him to bring the snowmobile so whiteys can escape.

obviously you're joking though.

personally i like wendy but i can see why my wife would find her annoying

so has room 237 come out yet?

  On 1/29/2013 at 1:47 AM, compson said:

Watching There Will Be Blood again, is there a reason Greenwood hasn't done a score for anyone else other than PTA? He's quite good at it.

TWBB had the best score ive heard in ages. made me enjoy the film approximately 20 percent more.

  On 1/29/2013 at 2:12 AM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

 

  On 1/29/2013 at 12:33 AM, compson said:

The narrative was at its most compelling point about a fourth of the way into the film before it decided to became forcible with its conclusion. The relationship between Jake and his gf was on speed while we saw very little character development with any of the characters. The only thing unfolding over this period of time was more disturbing behavior by the Cartels which led nowhere other than an unrealistic and unsatisfying climatic conclusion. And while realism isn't something required in a film at all, this film was portraying itself as a documentary or as realistic events, so the ending felt even more absurd. Instead of continuing with a format that is less epic and guns blazing, we realize everything was just building up to a moment where we are supposed to feel sorry for the two cops. Absolutely no grey areas. The bad guys were stupid and evil and they supposedly had to kill these two cops because they conveniently always pick the calls that led them to some huge jackpot. Or how about the guy who randomly tries to shoot the cops when pulled over? He wasn't pulled over for anything serious, therefore could have easily just talked his way out of it. At least if I understand the law correctly. So yeah, two cops, right place and right time with good reflexes eventually fall right into a trap, but somehow manage to avoid 4 machine guns over a period of 3-5 seconds but for no real purpose other than a 10 minute 'climax' of guns to which they escape but then basically get killed because well its the end of the movie and one of the two have to die so we have a funeral and can shed a tear for their families. And for what? Well they killed some low-life cartel people that were gonna get killed anyway if they failed their mission

 

Sorry the more I think about this, the more it stinks. But I think the concept could be used for something good, cause the camerawork was successful at adding a ominous tone to each house they investigated etc etc

well, you're right, but damn, i could pick on stuff like that on almost every movie i watch, even godfather, lol, what a piece of shitty crap blockbuster...

There are plenty of blockbusters that can be accused of this problem however because it attempts to record the events as if it were realistic it falls in line with something like Cloverfield. If you are gonna deal with something that is supposed to feel real or virtual... not film/dream-like then the context and story/characters have to hold that suspension. It's like documentaries that try and re-enact the events with blurry shoddy camera work and exaggerated acting. So while the film did serve as being suspenseful and entertaining (per 7/10) it ultimately left a bitter taste in my mouth because it sold itself way too short by sacrificing on plot for thrills/tear jerkers/shamalanadingdong twists in too many areas. The characters weren't driving the story forward with any kind of purpose. They were just doing their job, because..... they liked being cops... and they liked girls... they like dancing... and while they are altruistic in their purpose as cops they seem more interested in putting themselves in danger for the thrill... which I guess is a pretty realistic overall stereotype of cops. However if that was the goal, it would have served to have made them a bit more developed. If they had become more terrified of the situations they were finding themselves in and assisted with info in taking down the Cartel gangs with the SWAT/bald military/whoever dudes, providing the key to striking a major crackdown on their activities which leads to retaliation from younger/lower rank cartel members it would allow for the same climatic conclusion but this time with the context that their loyal fight against drugs will never end as long as the perpetual circular motion of money and revenge promotes it.

  On 1/29/2013 at 2:42 AM, compson said:

There are plenty of blockbusters that can be accused of this problem however because it attempts to record the events as if it were realistic it falls in line with something like Cloverfield. If you are gonna deal with something that is supposed to feel real or virtual... not film/dream-like then the context and story/characters have to hold that suspension. It's like documentaries that try and re-enact the events with blurry shoddy camera work and exaggerated acting. So while the film did serve as being suspenseful and entertaining (per 7/10) it ultimately left a bitter taste in my mouth because it sold itself way too short by sacrificing on plot for thrills/tear jerkers/shamalanadingdong twists in too many areas. The characters weren't driving the story forward with any kind of purpose. They were just doing their job, because..... they liked being cops... and they liked girls... they like dancing... and while they are altruistic in their purpose as cops they seem more interested in putting themselves in danger for the thrill... which I guess is a pretty realistic overall stereotype of cops. However if that was the goal, it would have served to have made them a bit more developed. If they had become more terrified of the situations they were finding themselves in and assisted with info in taking down the Cartel gangs with the SWAT/bald military/whoever dudes, providing the key to striking a major crackdown on their activities which leads to retaliation from younger/lower rank cartel members it would allow for the same climatic conclusion but this time with the context that their loyal fight against drugs will never end as long as the perpetual circular motion of money and revenge promotes it.

lol, so much politics, this is hollywood, i wonder what you have to say about zero dark thirty...

end of watch doesn't works quite well if you over think it, it's simply popcorn rush, that works during one and an half hour and that's it... end of watch!!! i dunno, for me it seemed that it wasn't trying too hard to be anything special thus i didn't felt undelivered...

I give it a good amount of thought because it did have the beginnings of something cool and I can use my ranting as a exercise for maybe figuring out better what worked and what didn't. So yeah I am over thinking it definitely. And it is a bit silly. But I'm having a fun time thinking it over. And 7/10 is still a good score from me yo. My rankings work like 10/10 is perfect story/visuals also thought provoking... 9/10 is wonderful story/visuals but mostly entertaining with minor flaws.... 8/10 great story/visuals but lacking a feeling of completion or just annoyingly missing its full potential... 7/10 good story/visuals, entertaining, but ultimately unsatisfying in conclusion and inconsistent. 6/10 mediocre story/visuals, mildly entertaining, little to no thought provoking aspects etc...

broken

8/10

whoa! part 2 which is, amazingly, not the last of this "beat it to death" idea. basically, it's teetering on terminator 2 territory here- complete with the "i'm on fire" ending thing happening.