The Official Review Thread of 2008
I won't mention a certain other film, but I'd say, of this year's possible nominees, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is far and away the worst. Sorry, but it makes Tropic Thunder look like a masterpiece by comparison.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
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Eric
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Crash is the worst Oscar contender in major or minor categories, in recent times or in all history of Oscar nominees, if not film in general.
Tropic Thunder (which I haven't seen yet) can settle for runner-up in the "worst nominee in a major Oscar category in recent years" sweeps.
Edited By Eric on 1231181140
Tropic Thunder (which I haven't seen yet) can settle for runner-up in the "worst nominee in a major Oscar category in recent years" sweeps.
Edited By Eric on 1231181140
I don't think so. I don't like Tropic Thunder but the following films that are likely Oscar nominees are slightly-to-much worse: Gran Torino, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Fall, and I'm still playing basic catch up these days. I will say that I don't think that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is much better and it has a screenplay that is just as ruinous. I won't make that same assertion about Slumdog Millionaire until I see it again.
"How's the despair?"
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The Original BJ
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If Robert Downey, Jr. gets an Oscar nod, I'll say it would be for the worst film to receive a major nomination in a LONG time. Tropic Thunder is just not funny. AT. ALL.
Robert Downey, Jr. absolutely deserved a nomination...LAST year, for Zodiac. Whatever there is to get about this movie I just don't get, because I thought it was complete torture.
Robert Downey, Jr. absolutely deserved a nomination...LAST year, for Zodiac. Whatever there is to get about this movie I just don't get, because I thought it was complete torture.
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Big Magilla
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I usually don't go for these type of movies much either, but I laughed quite a bit during this movie. Even Ben Stiller, who I generally find annoying, was pretty funny here.
"Because here’s the thing about life: There’s no accounting for what fate will deal you. Some days when you need a hand. There are other days when we’re called to lend a hand." -- President Joe Biden, 01/20/2021
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Mister Tee
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All you folks who've been praising Tropic Thunder -- what have you been smoking? It's the kind of movie I habitually avoid in theatres, then occasionally rent, and am instantly reminded why I didn't go see such things in theatres. Perhaps if I frequented such dopey movies, I'd see the minute ways in which it's a superior example of the genre...but it's easier to just skip them all.
I will confess I saw it in bad context: I was at my parents' for the weekend, and had brought along the DVD. As it started up, I thought to myself, Please, don't be TOO crude -- and of course the opening bit was that rapper doing his "I want the pussy" song. (And no hope my parents simply wouldn't catch the words: my 80-year-old father had the subtitles for the hard of hearing on) My mother left the room after about ten minutes; my father stayed throughout, but didn't laugh much. Of course, neither did I.
I think the Downey Jr. promotion is a case of pathetic gratitude: critics forced to sit through the swill deeply thankful for the one person who was at least amusing. Though of course when you wait till DVD to see such a film, all best punch-lines ("the full retard", "you people") are long ago spoiled for you. I like Downey alot, and understand a desire to honor his big comeback, but pushing him for an Oscar nod for this is, in Pat Moyhihan's famous phrase, defining deviancy down -- and doing it in the name of greater hipsterism.
I will confess I saw it in bad context: I was at my parents' for the weekend, and had brought along the DVD. As it started up, I thought to myself, Please, don't be TOO crude -- and of course the opening bit was that rapper doing his "I want the pussy" song. (And no hope my parents simply wouldn't catch the words: my 80-year-old father had the subtitles for the hard of hearing on) My mother left the room after about ten minutes; my father stayed throughout, but didn't laugh much. Of course, neither did I.
I think the Downey Jr. promotion is a case of pathetic gratitude: critics forced to sit through the swill deeply thankful for the one person who was at least amusing. Though of course when you wait till DVD to see such a film, all best punch-lines ("the full retard", "you people") are long ago spoiled for you. I like Downey alot, and understand a desire to honor his big comeback, but pushing him for an Oscar nod for this is, in Pat Moyhihan's famous phrase, defining deviancy down -- and doing it in the name of greater hipsterism.
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OscarGuy
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Michelle Williams gives one of those raw emotional performances in Wendy and Lucy. The film I could live without as it doesn't seem to have much of a reason to exist, but Williams doesn't go into hysterics, but her quiet emotional collapse is quite something. The entire film almost feels like a metaphor for her relationship with Heath Ledger. And I do mean almost.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
I will say that I did not like this film at all. I would have walked out if not for the fact that I was in a packed festival screening and did not have the courage to crawl over a dozen or so Romanian-Canadians to get out. I did not regain consciousness until that extended dinner scene which you mention, Sabin. Anamaria Marinca is amazing. The subtlety in her performance while everyone around the table drones on. You can see her every thought and feel how trapped she is. Easily the best acting performance in 2007!!Sabin wrote:Although I know this is a 2007, I can't imagine seeing many performances this year or that better than Anamaria Marinca.
...but his skill with actors is outstanding and his screenplay only errs with the almost needlessly protracted family dinner which a Romanian friend of mine has attested is stunningly accurate and also boring as fuck.
--Sabin wrote:The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Two hours plus of my life that I'll never get back. That movie made me want to disinfect my entire surroundings. And the much-touted (and even award-winning) supporting turn of Luminita Gheorghiu was completely underwhelming.
Edited By Big Magilla on 1241381784
"The mantle of spinsterhood was definitely in her shoulders. She was twenty five and looked it."
-Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
-Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
...but to continue onward, watching 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days on the same day as A Christmas Tale AND a lot of Simpsons episodes in which James L. Brooks was the show-runner is NOT a good idea.
This is my introduction to the Romanian New Wave and I'm inclined to watch The Death of Mr. Lazarescu and 12:08 Bucharest shortly...after a stiff drink. I remain staunchly respectful of the film and yet at something of an emotional distance, if only because to be emotionally closer to these characters would most likely kill me. We start with Otilia starting her day as if notching off entries on a list: seeing her boyfriend, trying to procure Kents, trying to fight the system to acquire a hotel room, then going off to meet with the mysterious Mr. Bebe, and so on until their intention (obviously known prior to me) is revealed.
This is a depressing moviegoing experience but what made it consistently interesting is that as far as movies-as-spirals go, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days refuses to simply place blame on one source for the suffering a woman must go through to choose: it is NOT the system, it is NOT men, it is NOT dark luck, it is NOT her own fault; and yet, it IS the system, it IS men, it IS dark luck, and it's her own damn fault as well. It is all of these things that together create for Otilia the worst day imaginable. Although I know this is a 2007, I can't imagine seeing many performances this year or that better than Anamaria Marinca. Slowly as the film peels back layer upon layer, we see the true reason for her saintliness is that it could just as easily be her. The way in which she deals with Gabita (how shall I say?) *afterwards* indicates that she has long-since known that this woman is essentially a child, and even as Otilia seems to almost blame herself as she quietly reprimands Gabita for her thoughtless lying (this is the best film to deal with thoughtless lies in some time), she also treats her as if she was her. This is one of the most beautiful, indelible portraits of suffering and mitzvah I've ever seen, which is fascinatingly contrasted moments later by her visit to her boyfriend who turns out to be as casually thoughtless as he is ineffectively sentimental.
There is an inelegance to writer/director Cristian Mingiu's compositions that are at times off-putting and I'm sure there's a defense for having a shot linger just too low or just too high or just too close, but his skill with actors is outstanding and his screenplay only errs with the almost needlessly protracted family dinner which a Romanian friend of mine has attested is stunningly accurate and also boring as fuck. I don't know why I feel distanced from this film. I certainly don't want uplift, or for it to extend beyond the boundaries of its given day, but it felt too curtly perfect, or perhaps it had just been overhyped. I connect cerebrally only. I needed to see this on the big screen so I could leave the theater and start drinking.
This is my introduction to the Romanian New Wave and I'm inclined to watch The Death of Mr. Lazarescu and 12:08 Bucharest shortly...after a stiff drink. I remain staunchly respectful of the film and yet at something of an emotional distance, if only because to be emotionally closer to these characters would most likely kill me. We start with Otilia starting her day as if notching off entries on a list: seeing her boyfriend, trying to procure Kents, trying to fight the system to acquire a hotel room, then going off to meet with the mysterious Mr. Bebe, and so on until their intention (obviously known prior to me) is revealed.
This is a depressing moviegoing experience but what made it consistently interesting is that as far as movies-as-spirals go, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days refuses to simply place blame on one source for the suffering a woman must go through to choose: it is NOT the system, it is NOT men, it is NOT dark luck, it is NOT her own fault; and yet, it IS the system, it IS men, it IS dark luck, and it's her own damn fault as well. It is all of these things that together create for Otilia the worst day imaginable. Although I know this is a 2007, I can't imagine seeing many performances this year or that better than Anamaria Marinca. Slowly as the film peels back layer upon layer, we see the true reason for her saintliness is that it could just as easily be her. The way in which she deals with Gabita (how shall I say?) *afterwards* indicates that she has long-since known that this woman is essentially a child, and even as Otilia seems to almost blame herself as she quietly reprimands Gabita for her thoughtless lying (this is the best film to deal with thoughtless lies in some time), she also treats her as if she was her. This is one of the most beautiful, indelible portraits of suffering and mitzvah I've ever seen, which is fascinatingly contrasted moments later by her visit to her boyfriend who turns out to be as casually thoughtless as he is ineffectively sentimental.
There is an inelegance to writer/director Cristian Mingiu's compositions that are at times off-putting and I'm sure there's a defense for having a shot linger just too low or just too high or just too close, but his skill with actors is outstanding and his screenplay only errs with the almost needlessly protracted family dinner which a Romanian friend of mine has attested is stunningly accurate and also boring as fuck. I don't know why I feel distanced from this film. I certainly don't want uplift, or for it to extend beyond the boundaries of its given day, but it felt too curtly perfect, or perhaps it had just been overhyped. I connect cerebrally only. I needed to see this on the big screen so I could leave the theater and start drinking.
"How's the despair?"