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Post by lola on Feb 17, 2010 4:37:52 GMT
Speaking of Chet Baker's My Funny Valentine: we saw The Band's Visit recently. Touching, glancing wit, worth watching. An Egyptian police band gets stranded overnight in a small Israeli town.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2010 19:19:42 GMT
I tried to watch the new version of "The Prisoner" but I lost interest before the end of the first episode. If they showed the original episodes, I would be glued to the screen.
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Post by Jazz on Feb 20, 2010 21:01:58 GMT
Last night I watched The Hurt Locker. As is my habit, I read little to nothing about a film before I watch it, just enough to give me a sense that it might be valuable. I was aware that it is up for many Oscars, but this often is meaningless. For the first few minutes I was bored and tired of looking at sand and desolate empty streets. Perhaps this is a 'man's' film? War is a waste.
Then, I found that I was becoming tense and with each moment, the tension rose and I was horrified and fascinated. It is unusual to have a war film directed by a woman, this could be the first? Her vision is clear. Sparse,single moments...pared down and powerfully showing sensibility. I think it is a remarkable emotional vision of war. It has gone into my top ten of war films ever made.
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Post by tillystar on Feb 22, 2010 13:12:27 GMT
Thanks Jazz, I have the DVD of The Hurt Locker at home and plan on wathcing it tonight, after your review I will watch it even if i am too tired.
This weekend I watch District 9 which was quite physically demending, I was tense all the way through coz of all the action. I was knackered by the end! I thought it was quite clever, overall it was OK. I also watched Righteous Kill which was OK, but I guessed the twist very early on. Nothing stunning this weekend.
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Post by Jazz on Feb 23, 2010 11:42:12 GMT
Tillystar, I am wondering what you thought of The Hurt Locker. I watched it again last night and found it just as compelling. I've decided that I have to go out and see Avatar. These two films are oddly linked. I was stunned to find out that James Cameron (director of Avatar) and Katherine Bigelow (director of The Hurt Locker) were once married to each other! oh my god. This is an interesting short article about the two films , www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=37418This is what fascinates me from the article.... 'Both films, in their own ways, 'touch on' the Iraq war, a theme that still haunts the world of politics, almost seven years on since the US-led invasion. Ironically, and contrary to official film labelling, for many Iraqis "Avatar" is seen as the most accurate Iraq war movie so far, while "The Hurt Locker" might appear as more 'alien' to them. The link to Iraq in "Avatar" is apparent to many from the outset of the film, but it is further entrenched with the use of terms like "shock and awe" and "fighting terror". '
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2010 12:05:37 GMT
Yes, that's why a large segment of the U.S. right wing denounced Avatar when it came out.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 9, 2010 4:32:54 GMT
About an hour ago I finished watching a dvd of The Soloist, and it took me this long to be able to say anything about it, because I was so moved. It's a brilliant movie in so many ways. For one thing the cinematography is excellent, besides being perfect for this particular movie. There were a thousand ways the film could have been played for cheap sentimentality, but I felt it went far, far beyond that. Sure, there were a few less than perfect steps, but overall everything works beautifully.
Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx couldn't be better -- great casting. And I hope the make-up artist who did Mr. Foxx got some kind of award. You can't see any make-up, but he plays himself both as a very young man and as a middle-aged man and is totally convincing either way. The most amazing thing, though, was what was done with his eyes. Somehow, as his older self, tormented by schizophrenia, his eyes have that small and somewhat flat look that can accompany mental illness, but Foxx still imparts every grade of feeling with them.
The music is sublime -- it will have you glued to the screen to the very end of the credits, where you'll be rewarded with the information that the soundtrack is available on Deutsche Grammophon
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 15, 2010 1:25:00 GMT
Oh, I wouldn't let any true-blue Mad Men woman miss the show. I am like a bloodhound for finding them online. Always ask if you want me to find something. For those of you who need your drama fix, I suggest you go back and start watching Big Love from the very beginning. The first couple of seasons, at least, must be out on dvd. It's a fascinating show with very solid characterizations and good plot twists. You can watch the pilot online here: www.yidio.com/show/big-love/season-1/episode-1/links.htmlThis show must be watched episode by episode, or you get lost. Also, don't read the wikipedia entry, because it gives away every bit of the plot.
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Post by Jazz on Mar 15, 2010 18:02:20 GMT
More on The Hurt Locker. Sorry, but I am borrowing my other comments from the oscar thread, to have it all together with my earlier replies here. "Perhaps I had a totally different 'take' on this film. I didn't at all see it as pro-american. Ultimately, I understood it as the total waste of war. To me, it was a sensitive and powerfull image of 'a man at war'. Not only the american man, but the Iraqi man. There was no feeling of american superiority, not to me. It is the story of a man who is somehow thrown into war and suffers the consequences. A man who is someone before, and someone afterwards...with no possibilty of control. I was drawn to each moment... in battle(minimal), the shifting relationships between war buddies, the unique and painful human hurt of death and causing death....the special moments, the end and, the beginning. For me, one totally unforgettable moment was his afternoon in the cereal aisle of the supermarket after his first shift in Iraq. Oh my god." Just last night I had another thought about this film. Throughout, on one level it focuses on the american team, especially on one man. But I've come to think that the director used the artistic concept of 'negative space' very effectively. In memory, I see and feel, the linear and emotional progression of the film. There are only two Iraqi characters that have a place. But, there are powerful images throughout of silent Iraqis lining the streets, watching. Often there are closeups on their faces and extreme closeups of their eyes. Words aren't spoken, you are left to somehow translate what their silence is saying. These silent images have become more powerful with distance from the film. Negative space: www.tutorial9.net/resources/enhancing-your-art-with-negative-space/
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 15, 2010 19:41:52 GMT
Extremely interesting point about negative space, Jazz. Artistic use of negative space definitely affects a viewer in any of the arts, whether nor not they're aware they're "seeing" it.
I watched Crazy Heart last night, and my main reaction was ehhhhnh. I didn't dislike it, but just as I suspected, it was yet another trite reworking of a slight and hackneyed theme. The acting and directing are excellent -- no complaints there, it's just that I ultimately felt it was a waste of time and resources by those involved. The one shining jewel in the whole thing is a small part by Robert Duvall. Whew! You see him first from the back and how the heck does he convey an entire character from that angle?
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Post by Jazz on Mar 16, 2010 16:44:33 GMT
Man on the Train is great film, another of the many that no one else I know has seen or heard of. I first saw it about five minutes into the film and was totally fascinated by the face of a man who turned out to be Johnny Hallyday, an older Johnny Hallyday. (after all these years of hearing about JH, I had never seen him) The man in the black leather jacket gets off the train in a sleepy French town. Why? He meets Jean Rochfort (a great French actor) who is a retired poetry teacher whose life bores even himself. There are no hotel rooms available and Rochfort impulsively invites the man to stay with him in his lovely home. A totally unexpected friendship develops and they explore their individual lives and dreams not realized, each is fascinated by the other's life. Amazing what a pair of slippers can do for a man. I was totally absorbed as it unfolded. I love this film.
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Post by bjd on Mar 16, 2010 16:47:23 GMT
Johnny Hallyday, an older Johnny Hallyday. (after all these years of hearing about JH, I had never seen him)
So much for the French, who think he is a great international star!
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Post by Kimby on Mar 18, 2010 14:58:04 GMT
Still watching "24" on Fox TV www.fox.com/24/We just "discovered" it because we previously did not have access to FOX TV as we refuse to get cable or satellite TV, and our antenna could not pull it in. With the switch to digital signals over the air, suddenly FOX comes in fine, so we've started watching it. Apparently, it's about to have its plug pulled after 7 seasons of winning Emmy Awards. Wouldn't you know? Here's a synopsis of the first hour of this season, if anyone wants to know what it's about: www.fox.com/24/r /season-8/episode-1.htm
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 19, 2010 5:15:17 GMT
Still haven't seen it, Kimby It still looks good. One day .....
=========================================
I just finished watching the new Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland online. The print wasn't too bad, even though it was the real thing of a pirated copy, complete with people silhouetted against the screen as they went out for popcorn, etc.
It was pretty entertaining, although I wasn't nearly as engaged as I would have liked. I've been reading the Alice books on and off ever since I was a child, so am a true aficionada. The parts I really liked were how Burton captured the whole ambivalence about growing up that's at the core of Through the Looking Glass, and also brought out the tacit feminism in the books.
Lots of it looks really good, too -- the White Rabbit is perfect, as is the Red Queen. Some other things jarred, though, such as proportions and placements seeming off, something you'd think wouldn't happen in film-making today. Also, the White Queen was just wrong -- nothing like the book. Some of the stuff was just there to be slapsticky or whiz-bang, such as the depiction of the March Hare, who was cartoony and jarring.
There were things about the movie that were too repetitive and too reminiscent of other movies. For instance, why were there so many chase scenes with the playing card soldiers of the Red Queen, when so many other wonderful things could have fit into the time available? And speaking of time, that was one of my major objections -- the whole timing of the movie is fitful and feels a beat off. Hard to explain, but I'm sure you all have experienced that kind of thing in a movie.
Helena Bonham Carter does great things with the Red Queen, actually turning it into a bit of a character study. Johnny Depp makes a super Mad Hatter except for the stupid, bad makeup. Really, it's downright distracting and out of place. I thought Mia Wasikowska as Alice was perfect -- a brilliant choice. Her costumes are SO much fun, too.
I'd be curious to know what others think of this movie.
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Post by lola on Mar 19, 2010 14:18:38 GMT
I had really hoped A in W would be good. NYTimes reviewer I think was the one who said Burton didn't seem particularly interested in Alice as a character, which would be a problem. Of course, I can understand being infatuated with Johnny D.
So grateful for the Mad Men link, bixa, but found myself staying up way too late skimming ahead through the episodes we haven't seen. (Hannah and I are still waiting in queue for library copy of Season 2, and my mother -- whose opinion I'd really love-- is 15th in line at her library system.) I love the last episode of Season 3. Joan walking in was a thrill.
We watched The Fast Runner last night, now my favorite Inuit language film. It was strange and beautiful, and featured a naked barefoot man running long distances through the snow. At the end there's a little clip showing the cameraman being pushed on a sled alongside the runner.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 19, 2010 15:43:22 GMT
"skimming ahead" ~~ you didn't just watch and savor?
A note on Megavideo links: if you get a new window when you click on full screen, be sure to get rid of the first window. Megavideo only lets you watch 72 consecutive minutes, and if both windows are open, they'll count both & you'll on get 36 minutes. They also sometimes have the sound out of sync with the picture. In that case, it's better to go try a different link.
That's a really interesting review comment about Burton/Alice. Thinking on it, I'm wondering if it doesn't apply to his attitude towards all the characters. There is such a disconnect between them, it almost seems as if each character's scenes were shot in isolation, then patched together with those of the other characters.
Are there many Inuit language films, or were you being facetious? Is it a documentary?
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Post by lola on Mar 19, 2010 15:58:34 GMT
Hi, bixa
I'm skimming ahead so Hannah and I can savor them together, and so I can keep some surprises. ( like who was involved in the John Deere incident) I found myself in tears when Cronkite reported Kennedy death.
Was kidding about the Inuit thing. Nanook of the North would be the closest I could even think of. Fast Runner draws you in, is not a documentary though I did wonder about that a few times during the first 15 min or so. Sex, violence, nudity in a very non-Hollywood manner.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 19, 2010 17:01:14 GMT
Sex, violence, nudity and it's in Inuit ........ how can I resist?!
The feeling of dread I had watching the Mad Men characters watching the tv with Lee Oswald being brought through the Dallas police station was almost unbearable.
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Post by lola on Mar 19, 2010 17:46:35 GMT
Yes! Me, too. They cut away, didn't they?
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 27, 2010 4:39:07 GMT
Um, I can't really remember. Remember that I vividly remember when it happened in real life, and have seen the clip many times. However, as in any good dramatization of history, there's that awful feeling of knowing what is going to happen, but because you're in the fiction watching or reading zone, there's that feeling that it might not happen. I thought of you today, Lola, as I was browsing for a movie to watch. I am going to wait until I can watch this movie with you, though, as I'll need you to translate: The Snow WalkerThis evening I finally watched The Boat That Rocked. I have to say, I was fairly disappointed. The second half of the movie is okay, but I almost quit a few times before that because it was so boring and I didn't really care about any of the characters. You'd think a movie like this would be fun and exhilarating, but you'd be wrong. Also, right off the bat, they played two songs that didn't exist in the time period when the movie opens. Since that was the same year I graduated from high-school, my mind is stuffed with trivia from the era, so things like that are of burning importance to me. I don't know where the director was -- it's not a cohesive movie, even though there are some wonderful bits and really good acting. Also, I felt many of the actors were too old. Why was Phillip Seymour Hoffman in the movie -- to lend it the gloss of his name? He wasn't terrible or anything, just somehow not right. For one thing, the way he spoke didn't "feel" like 1966. Oh yeah -- & at one point several people talk about "thinking outside the box", a phrase that feels all wrong for the era portrayed. I wouldn't recommend not seeing it, just don't expect much.
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Post by Jazz on Mar 28, 2010 21:42:21 GMT
Up in the Air. I immediately confess to being a bigot and writing off too many actors who are 'pretty boys' or 'pretty girls'. You can miss some great performances with this limited thinking.
George Clooney keeps changing and changing in my opinion. Too often, he does his 'modern Cary Grant' performance, and, he does it well. I think he is a victim of his good looks and he keeps trying to overcome this. Marilyn Monroe was another victim. Both fight (and fought) to be seen and appreciated beyond their beauty.
I bought Up in the Air in one of my 3 for $10 runs. I think it is definitely worth seeing. Clooney delivers his finest and most nuanced performance yet. He ages and comes into awareness and disillusion, slowly and sadly. He shows hurt and a rather bewildered, but late, understanding. The whole film is an interesting look at the lifestyle of a person who does not want to commit and the downside of living only in the moment.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 28, 2010 22:37:26 GMT
What always turned me off about George Clooney was that he seems always to be smiling, something I find disconcerting. I do agree with you about Up in the Air, he is excellent, as is the woman who plays the girlfriend. Really, great casting in that movie. I'd have to say the movie was extremely well-crafted, but Oscar material? Naaah. ===================================================================
Well, I finally watched Lost in Translation last night, and am over the moon about it. It has definitely made my would-watch-again, top favorite list.
The reason I avoided it for so long was because I thought I'd never forgive Sofia Coppola for Marie Antoinette, that pointless marshmallow of a movie. The only good thing in it was the scene of Marie Antoinette in her coach, rushing through the evening countryside with Bow Wow Wow's "Fools Rush In" on the soundtrack.
And rushing is one of the great strengths of Lost in Translation, starting with the gorgeous opening scene of jet-lagged Bill Murray in the cab, goggling at Tokyo as it passes. The way Coppola repeatedly uses Murray and Scarlett Johansson rushing across moving traffic is just brilliant. Really, the way Coppola captures and uses movement all the way through the movie is astounding. Sometimes it's broad and dramatic, with moving vehicles and dazzling pannings across the razzle-dazzle of neon. Other times, it's so subtle as to be almost subliminal. There is a fantastic scene of Johansson and Murray sitting at the hotel bar together, when they're first getting to know each other. They're both facing the camera, and Bill Murray is in his trademark slight slump, somehow conveying the whole experience of being mired in his life. Then you notice that Scarlett Johansson is smoking just a little too quickly and her shoulders are moving ever so slightly in almost a strobe-like pattern. Whew -- too wonderful.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2010 8:35:13 GMT
I am one of the people who did not like "Lost In Translation" at all when it came out, putting me in the small minority of people not drooling over it. I wanted more of the Tokyo experience and less of the sterile hotel environment. Oh yes, and I have despised Scarlett Johansson since the first time I laid eyes on her in this movie. I think that the only movie in which I found her tolerable was 'In Good Company' because it was a very simple movie and she just played a student, which put the role within her limited reach in terms of talent.
Maybe she has made some better movies, but I do my best to avoid anything that she is in now.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 29, 2010 19:05:39 GMT
What a completely opposite reaction! This is not a rebuttal, because I know that feeling of complete dislike of something, and there is no way of reasoning someone into acceptance of something to which they have a really negative gut reaction.
However ...........
"the sterile hotel environment" was crucial, as it was the crucible for the relationship that developed between the two principals. The Tokyo experience, although gorgeous and interesting for the viewer, was really there to point up the whole out-of-space, out-of-time situation in which the two found themselves, It was also an excellent, oblique way to show their characters, as well as the essential unworkability of any long-term relationship between them.
I thought Scarlett Johansson was perfect in the part, both in how she handled it, and how the director handled her. When we first see her, she is shot in most unflattering angles, looking not at all pretty and very young and unformed. We then watch her make up and transform herself into an adult for the outside world, which beautifully illustrates how the character's native poise and beauty are still mostly veneer. I've only seen her in this movie and in the unbearably horrible 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona', but I find her very natural as an actress.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2010 19:59:03 GMT
What might be valid (or not!) is that every single person I talked to who loved the movie had never been to Tokyo. The ones who had been to Tokyo either had mixed feelings or hated it. This was a pretty small poll sampling, of course.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 29, 2010 22:01:39 GMT
I think in that movie, and in many movies set in dramatic &/or beautiful cities, the city is more window-dressing than part of the theme. In this case, Tokyo was a good logical choice. The two characters are both Americans and both fairly ordinary people despite the fact that one is a movie star. Their reasons for being there had to do with expensive glamor industries, but it was important to show them as being out of their element. The high-gloss, rapid pace, and super modernity of Tokyo worked well in that regard. Obviously the director and cinematographer weren't going to ignore the massive opportunities for lush, vibrant, shocking etc. etc. filming Tokyo affords. But since the movie was not a travelogue nor a documentary, and "exotic city" was what was needed as a backdrop, I feel that Tokyo was deliberately shown as someone who had not been there would see it.
I've mentioned this movie before, but 'Man on Fire' is a good example of a movie where the location city is as important as any character in the movie.
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Post by lola on Apr 3, 2010 17:03:28 GMT
"Lost" was lost on me, I'm afraid. Subtle in ways the went over my head, I think.
Okay, so I do have a little bit of a thing for Russell Crowe, and think he has one of the sweetest smiles ever. My college dtr and I got the thriller State of Play last night at the video store as something we all could enjoy ( sometimes a difficult task). We were on the edges of our seats throughout. One of those films where I could feel satisfied at an ending I didn't quite understand.
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Post by Jazz on Apr 3, 2010 17:34:24 GMT
We all seem to watch films with different expectations. It's almost impossible not to have some preconceived idea. I liked Lost in Translation very much. It didn't matter to me how much we were seeing of Tokyo, I was interested in Bill Murray in one of his rare dramatic roles (well done) and in the treatment of the relationship. When he came to the crossroads, I wanted so much for him to take the other road. I like Scarlett.
Russell Crowe does little for me as an actor. I worked with him on Cinderella Man and he is quite the arrogant diva.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 3, 2010 19:18:33 GMT
I haven't read enough reviews of it to know whether this has been said or not, but Lost in Translation is really quite a moral tale, and I found it interesting that the viewer almost can't help but root for the "wrong" thing to be done.
In the few things in which I've seen Russell Crowe, I thought he was really good. And yeah, Lola, he kinda rings my bell too. In many ways, I'd rather not know anything personal about actors, directors, writers or other artists because I don't want anything to interfere with how I see their work. Woody Allen, for instance, is hardly ever discussed any more without someone mentioning The Scandal. Of course, I guess you could hardly have avoided your knowledge of Russell Crowe, Jazz.
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Post by Jazz on Apr 3, 2010 20:02:30 GMT
It's impossible to avoid. The mood and temperment of the lead actors determine the mood of the set. Sometimes 16 hours a day for the length of production.
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