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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 10:50 pm
by Sabin
/Forgetting Sarah Marshall/ (dir. Nicholas Stoller) - 6/10
It's fine.
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 5:36 pm
by Mister Tee
Catching up on a batch of recent Netflix-ers:
La Guerre est Finie -- Resnais portrait of a professional revolutionary that manages to be both tense and melancholy. I'm glad I didn't see it when it first came out (when I was 15); I wouldn't have remotely comprehended it. Today I respond to its sense of futility (a guy still trying to undermine Franco three decades after his victory!) but also its nobility.
Cadillac Records -- minor but enjoyable. Unlike many here, I've never much responded to Adrien Brody, but I thought he scored well here. And Beyonce showed far more acting ability than she did in Dreamgirls. Great music, unsurprisingly.
Brighton Rock -- OK, though I sometimes have trouble stomaching Graham Greene's religiosity, especially when it makes characters (like the ingenue) behave in ways I consider imbecilic. Cool ending. Oh, and they never mention what the title means. My recollection, from reading the book about 40 years ago, is it referred to candy sold on the boardwalk.
Paranoid Park -- Gus van Sant intertwines a noir-ish situation with his usual obsessions. I don't think the style -- esp. the frequent long, aimless walks -- works as well as it did in Elephant. But a solid effort.
Le Plaisir -- does anyone know if there are variously edited versions of this film? I'm aware the narration changes based on the print, but I read one write-up that mentioned the longest, brothel/first communion section of the film as closing out the work, where it was the mid-point of what I saw. Anyway...Ophuls is truly a one of a kind; his use of space is just beyond any other director's I can think of -- and it's not just tracking shots to show off, but shots that reveal character in unique ways. I don't rate this quite on the level of La Ronde or Earrings of Madame de, but I wouldn't have missed it.
Edited By Mister Tee on 1248647797
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 1:22 pm
by mlrg
Sabin wrote:Louise Fletcher has no business being nominated for Best Lead Actress though, let alone winning. She's pretty good but this is clearly a supporting role.
Agreed
Isabelle Adjani should have won
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 1:21 pm
by mlrg
Norma Rae (1979) - Martin Ritt
8/10
A very deserving oscar win for Sally Field (although I haven't seen The Rose yet)
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 1:42 am
by Sabin
/One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest/ (dir. Milos Forman) - 10/10
So...yeah.
I haven't seen this one since high school and I was bracing myself for an overrated, Oscar-winning bore. Nope. Loved it to the point where I felt my fingers on Nurse Ratchdt's throat. What this film botched though (more specifically, what Forman botched) is the build before one of the All-Time Greatest Scenes of My Life...where Mac finds out that everyone there is a voluntary! He flips his shit so hilariously and the scene snowballs from there...and it's oddly muted. Weird.
This film is pretty glorious. I love it. Louise Fletcher has no business being nominated for Best Lead Actress though, let alone winning. She's pretty good but this is clearly a supporting role.
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 9:32 pm
by Big Magilla
kaytodd wrote:Big Magilla wrote:1956-Columbia wanted to campaign Rosalind Russell in Picnic in support. Russell howled and was not nominated in either category.
Damien briefly discussed this episode in Inside Oscar. Roz called the idea of her being nominated in the supporting category (and I think it was a genuine supporting performance) "carpetbagging." A carpetbagger is defined an "an opportunistic and exploitative outsider." Interesting. She was a major star with many leading roles to her credit when she decided to take a supporting role in what was probably a prestige project. But, I guess because of her status as a movie star, she saw competing for a supporting Oscar against actors who regularly play supporting roles as "opportunistic and exploitative." Interesting way to look at it.
That was pretty much the thinking in those days.
Interestingly the actress who created the role on Broadway was nominated the following year for a part she was lucky enough to reprise on screen and eventually won an Oscar for reprising another role she created on Broadway. That was, of course, Eileen Heckart.
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 9:17 pm
by kaytodd
Big Magilla wrote:1956-Columbia wanted to campaign Rosalind Russell in Picnic in support. Russell howled and was not nominated in either category.
Damien briefly discussed this episode in Inside Oscar. Roz called the idea of her being nominated in the supporting category (and I think it was a genuine supporting performance) "carpetbagging." A carpetbagger is defined an "an opportunistic and exploitative outsider." Interesting. She was a major star with many leading roles to her credit when she decided to take a supporting role in what was probably a prestige project. But, I guess because of her status as a movie star, she saw competing for a supporting Oscar against actors who regularly play supporting roles as "opportunistic and exploitative." Interesting way to look at it.
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 6:58 pm
by dreaMaker
Amadeus (Milos Forman, 1984)
10/10
Tremendous.
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 5:17 pm
by Precious Doll
Damien wrote:Precious Doll wrote:Ghost Catchers (1944) Edward F Cline 2/10
Precious, how did you see Ghost Catchers? It was one of my favorities as a kid and I saw it numerous times on Saturday afternoon TV, but haven't seen it in at least 40 years.
Movie unlimited have it for sale. The print quality is not the best though. VCI have released it, maybe from an old T.V. print.
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 1:59 pm
by rudeboy
I blind bought For a Lost Soldier on ebay a few years ago, eventually watched it and absolutely hated it. I found it ugly and dull and it left a very bad taste... all of this love has convinced me to give it a second shot...
On a more positive note, a very satisfying Saturday for me:
A Man Escaped (1956) - 8
The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) - 8
Edited By rudeboy on 1248548440
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 1:17 pm
by Damien
Precious Doll wrote:Ghost Catchers (1944) Edward F Cline 2/10
Precious, how did you see Ghost Catchers? It was one of my favorities as a kid and I saw it numerous times on Saturday afternoon TV, but haven't seen it in at least 40 years.
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:25 pm
by Eric
Precious Doll wrote:The Limits of Control (2009) Jim Jarmusch 1/10
I've always been indifferent to Jarmusch but this is a career low for him and I found it torturous to sit through. Such a shame too to see the likes of Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, John Hurt and in particular Hiam Abbass wasted.
I like some Jarmusch, but I agree, this was fairly brutal (the sort of movie that garners interesting and thought-provoking defenses but still can't dissuade me my antipathy).
Caveat: didn't find Tilda Swinton wasted, rather found she was fighting valiantly against the odds.
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:30 am
by Hustler
Sabin wrote:Tell me more of 'Secret of the Grain'. I do hear it's something of a gem and that Hafsia Herzi was incredibly good.
Everyone is great. I don´t know if you had the chance to see any other Kechiche´s movies.
He has a direct style with long scenes (the movie lasts 2 hours and a half) in which every detail is exposed with instensity. The performances rich the level of excellence.
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:21 am
by anonymous1980
Public Enemies (Michael Mann) - 8/10
Rachel Getting Married (Jonathan Demme) - 8/10
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 3:47 am
by Precious Doll
The Limits of Control (2009) Jim Jarmusch 1/10
I've always been indifferent to Jarmusch but this is a career low for him and I found it torturous to sit through. Such a shame too to see the likes of Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, John Hurt and in particular Hiam Abbass wasted.
Cheri (2009) Stephen Fears 4/10
Something of a mess but thankfully very short and easy to watch. The film is widely uneven jumping from drama to comedy in the flash of any eye. Pfeiffer and Bates give performances to match the material, though it's hardly their fault. However Rupert Friend is simply terrible. A sullen presence who gives a one note performance.
Ghost Catchers (1944) Edward F Cline 2/10
Anchoress (1993) Chris Newby 7/10
Incendiary (2008) Sharon Maguire 4/10
The Bear and the Doll (1969) Michel Deville 2/10
For the record you can count me as another fan of For a Lost Soldier. Wish someone would pit out a decent DVD of it though.