The Official Review Thread of 2015

anonymous1980
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2015

Post by anonymous1980 »

LEGEND
Cast: Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, David Thewlis, Christopher Eccleston, Chazz Palminteri, Taron Egerton, Colin Morgan, Paul Bettany, Tara Fitzgerald, Duffy.
Dir: Brian Helgeland.

This is a film about a pair of notorious gangsters who are identical twin brothers, the Krays, who ruled the crime world in London during the 1960's. It's a a fascinating subject matter fit for a cinematic treatment but for the love of God, I wish filmmakers would quit trying too hard to emulate Goodfellas when it comes to gangster biopics. It's not amusing anymore. It's comes off as second rate. That plus the fact the film is rather unfocused and a bit bloated. Although one reason to see this film is Tom Hardy, who plays both brothers, and he gives an undeniably outstanding performance. He is further proof that he's one of our finest working actors today.

Oscar Prospects: Tom Hardy would be a fine Best Actor nominee in an otherwise rather mediocre gangster pic.

Grade: C.

THE PEANUTS MOVIE
Cast: Noah Schnapp, Hadley Belle Miller, Mariel Sheets, Alex Garfin, Noah Johnston, Venus Omega Schultheis, Rebecca Bloom, Francesca Angelucci Capaldi, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Kristin Chenoweth, Bill Melendez (voices).
DIr: Steve Martino.

I was excited for the film version of the popular comic strip because based on the trailers, I love the way they blended the style of the animation of the original animated TV specials with the computer animation. Now that I've seen the entire thing, I love that they didn't try to update the story or make it "hip" (i.e. give them cell phones, modernize it, pop culture references, etc.). They kept it as pure as they can. Although one big criticism i would like to say about it is that it's so faithful, it's almost a little TOO faithful and it becomes sort of a Greatest Hits compilation for those who already fans. But that is forgivable since the story is engaging and very endearing enough that newcomers can easily endear themselves to the characters.

Oscar Prospects: Best Animated Feature seems possible. But I think "Better When I'm Dancin'" deserves an Original Song nomination.

Grade: B+
anonymous1980
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2015

Post by anonymous1980 »

45 YEARS
Cast: Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, Geraldine James.
Dir: Andrew Haigh.

An older couple living a quiet life in the English countryside are about to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary when news of the recovery of the body of the husband's former girlfriend (before he met his wife) who was killed in an accident in the mountains during a vacation reach them. This causes some questions to be raised about the nature of their marriage. Count me as one of the admirers of Andrew Haigh's intelligent film about a gay relationship in Weekend. He does a similar-ish thing with an older heterosexual couple in this one. Charlotte Rampling's performance has been much talked about and for good reason, it is outstanding. However, some credit should be made to Tom Courtenay who is equally great. Overall, a very lovely film.

Oscar Prospects: Charlotte Rampling deserves all her accolades.

Grade: B+
taki15
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2015

Post by taki15 »

ITALIANO wrote: His posts are all basically insults to me - and for years now. He's this sad, desperate person who obviously suffers from a terrible inferiority complex (with some reasons, let me say it). I don't hate him - I just pity him because he's clearly unhappy. Very unhappy.
How touching. Let me grab a handkerchief.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2015

Post by ITALIANO »

flipp525 wrote: But Juliette Binoche simply blew me away. Her transformation from the beginning of the film to the end is remarkable. From the bitchy stage actress, tossing off lines with a vinegary wit to the end of the film when she fully comprehends the mortal catastrophe that life is and how it's utterly embodied in the character she now must assume on stage and thought she should never play. I thought her performance was one of the best of the year.

Yes. As good as Stewart is, Clouds of Sils Maria is Binoche's movie - and she deals with her role with an almost effortless gravitas, the way not just talent but also maturity can provide. This is a crowded year for Best Actress, but it's surprising that she's never been even barely mentioned. I'm nt sure that the movie is very good, but the acting in it is.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2015

Post by ITALIANO »

mlrg wrote:
taki15 wrote:
ITALIANO wrote: ANYTHING, my dear taki15, is allowed in replying to a post as gross and vulgar as yours. Stop bothering me now and go back to your miserable existence.
I think what's really vulgar is acting as if your personal opinion is the absolute truth and that whoever disagrees with you belongs to the unwashed masses.
So you might as well brace yourself because I won't stop as long as you come here and act as if you're a stuck-up professor and the rest of us your hapless students.
to question someone who has 10 times less posts than the other person and even question how he behaves here is pretty histerical.

His posts are all basically insults to me - and for years now. He's this sad, desperate person who obviously suffers from a terrible inferiority complex (with some reasons, let me say it). I don't hate him - I just pity him because he's clearly unhappy. Very unhappy.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2015

Post by flipp525 »

I'm surprised that Clouds of Sils Maria isn't more in the conversation this year. Is it just too "European art-house"? Too many long (absolutely exquisite) shots of the mountains and the titular clouds? Who knows. But I found a lot to admire here. The screenplay which doles out its universal truths amidst some really modern dialogue is just exquisite, sort of mirroring the three act play-within-the movie that haunts the entire film. I also really admired the restraint involved in ending scenes at unexpected times. Tee, it reminded me a little bit of what you said in the A Little Life thread about how Yanagihara would move into new scenes/chapters and you'd kind of learn about things that had happened in between. I'm not sure what the appropriate film term is, but there was a very appealing fade-out technique being used as well. I definitely saw shades of Cassavettes' Opening Night (1977).

And the performances are all top-notch. Kristen Stewart has obviously gotten a lot of attention for her turn as the world-weary personal assistant (those Best Supporting Actress citations are actually deserved, to my surprise). I thought she was great in this, displaying colors I hadn't seen in her work before. The scenes of her running lines with Binoche are fraught with dramatic tension and pathos. There's so much going on there! The parallels between the "Majola Snake" play and the film we're watching become more pronounced and really come to a head during that final hike. Chloe Grace Moretz (who was an unhinged disaster in Dark Places this year, by the way - that entire movie was a miscalculation) was kind of perfect in her Eve Harrington-esque role.

But Juliette Binoche simply blew me away. Her transformation from the beginning of the film to the end is remarkable. From the bitchy stage actress, tossing off lines with a vinegary wit to the end of the film when she fully comprehends the mortal catastrophe that life is and how it's utterly embodied in the character she now must assume on stage and thought she should never play. I thought her performance was one of the best of the year.
"The mantle of spinsterhood was definitely in her shoulders. She was twenty five and looked it."

-Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
mlrg
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2015

Post by mlrg »

taki15 wrote:
ITALIANO wrote: ANYTHING, my dear taki15, is allowed in replying to a post as gross and vulgar as yours. Stop bothering me now and go back to your miserable existence.
I think what's really vulgar is acting as if your personal opinion is the absolute truth and that whoever disagrees with you belongs to the unwashed masses.
So you might as well brace yourself because I won't stop as long as you come here and act as if you're a stuck-up professor and the rest of us your hapless students.
to question someone who has 10 times less posts than the other person and even question how he behaves here is pretty histerical.
taki15
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2015

Post by taki15 »

ITALIANO wrote: ANYTHING, my dear taki15, is allowed in replying to a post as gross and vulgar as yours. Stop bothering me now and go back to your miserable existence.
I think what's really vulgar is acting as if your personal opinion is the absolute truth and that whoever disagrees with you belongs to the unwashed masses.
So you might as well brace yourself because I won't stop as long as you come here and act as if you're a stuck-up professor and the rest of us your hapless students.
ITALIANO
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2015

Post by ITALIANO »

taki15 wrote:
ITALIANO wrote:
taki15 wrote:
Well, it surely beats yours of masturbating while you look yourself at the mirror.

It's something that I don't do too often, to be honest!!! :D But at least I could. For some reason, I'm not sure that YOUR image in the mirror would be that attractive...
Isn't it funny that someone who talks about subtext in movies and how superficial are all those people who enjoy Mad Max suddenly attacks someone else for his looks?
ANYTHING, my dear taki15, is allowed in replying to a post as gross and vulgar as yours. Stop bothering me now and go back to your miserable existence.
taki15
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2015

Post by taki15 »

ITALIANO wrote:
taki15 wrote:
Well, it surely beats yours of masturbating while you look yourself at the mirror.

It's something that I don't do too often, to be honest!!! :D But at least I could. For some reason, I'm not sure that YOUR image in the mirror would be that attractive...
Isn't it funny that someone who talks about subtext in movies and how superficial are all those people who enjoy Mad Max suddenly attacks someone else for his looks?
ITALIANO
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2015

Post by ITALIANO »

taki15 wrote:
Well, it surely beats yours of masturbating while you look yourself at the mirror.

It's something that I don't do too often, to be honest!!! :D But at least I could. For some reason, I'm not sure that YOUR image in the mirror would be that attractive...
taki15
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2015

Post by taki15 »

ITALIANO wrote:
taki15 wrote: It's just that one of my favorite pastimes is to needle arrogant pricks.

It's the "favorite pastime" of the mediocre and the frustrated.
Well, it surely beats yours of masturbating while you look yourself at the mirror.
ITALIANO
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2015

Post by ITALIANO »

taki15 wrote: It's just that one of my favorite pastimes is to needle arrogant pricks.

It's the "favorite pastime" of the mediocre and the frustrated.
taki15
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2015

Post by taki15 »

ITALIANO wrote: I love that you are so obsessed with me and with what I write, taki15. .
I know it's hard for someone like you, but don't flatter yourself.
It's just that one of my favorite pastimes is to needle arrogant pricks.
ITALIANO
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2015

Post by ITALIANO »

Okri wrote:
ITALIANO wrote:
Okri wrote:Italiano, a different question: is Raiders of the Lost Ark a great art? Is Jaws great art?

Of course not :) They are very entertaining movies, but I would never call them "masterpieces"... But, I mean, I don't have anything against pure entertainment, so I don't understand your question...
Oh, you did. I was just curious.

Can a movie be great art if there is no subtext?

It can - if at least the TEXT is complex, or multi-layered. "Content" either explicit or at least implicit is necessary (and it has to be intentional) - otherwise it's just Form, and while Form can be perfect, or technically accomplished, and certainly effective, it's not enough to make anything (not just a movie - a novel, a painting, etc) a "masterpiece". This is what I think the latest generation of film critics (especially in America, for reasons that probably - but I am not sure - have to do with a lack of a CERTAIN KIND of education in the early years of school, which are extremely important for one's cultural roots) doesn't understand. And by the way it's not like saying that a movie is ONLY good as entertainment is a major offence - movies are ALSO entertainment, American movies especially, and well-made entertainment is something I respect. But words like "masterpiece" or "work of art" are used too often today, and sorry, they can't be applied to Mad Max Fury Road.

But I am not blind. Even Hitchcock's movies were at first critically dismissed by several critics, and only some - and later, many, but only later - felt how subtle and complex they actually were. And for example - to get back to your question - of the two movies you mentioned, at least Jaws has been viewed by some as something more profound and more meaningful than just a "horror movie". I may not be completely convinced (a certain psychoanalystic approach to Art never completely satisfies me) but I am open to all this. But when I read the enthusiastic reviews for Mad Max Fury Road I only perceive a depressing critical emptiness, a frustrating (to me) inability to go beyond the pleasure one gets from the thrills it superficially provides (yes, I know, "it's very-well acted"... By whom? Charlize Theron?). And while it's important to point out that cinema and literature are completely different types of artistic expression, it's obvious that the literary equivalent of Mad Max Fury Road would never be even remotely taken seriously by the critics. Let's say that I respect cinema too much to take it seriously even as a movie.
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