Schoolio's Movie Corner

[nbvcide]

I already think he's your alias and that you're arguing with yourself. No way anyone would normally dedicate this much time debating with someone with the personality of a abacus.

an abacus.. should've edited..

btw, an abacus has far more personality than any standard calculator...

[SoulDischarge]

Maybe you're my alias. I can't tell any more.

[nbvcide]

i'm not allowed to have aliases anymore..

mommy & daddy got mad.

[ivankay]

Uh..

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/6945/wherewildthings.jpg

This is one of the films being done at werk. i asked my comrade how it's turning out. He thinks it one of the best to come through our house. Exciting.

[M Sparks]

The Antichrist IMDB page contains two comments in a row that contain the phrase "self-molestation."

I have never heard this phrase in my life. Is it a Danish thing? Or just a guy posting 10 star reviews under different names who mixed up "molestation" with "mutilation"?

[M Sparks]

Uh..

What are you "uh-ing"? The sand dunes? That's the only thing I thought was weird.

This is one of the films being done at werk. i asked my comrade how it's turning out. He thinks it one of the best to come through our house. Exciting.

My wife and I both got a little choked up at the trailer the other day, though neither of us admitted it at the time.

[wmgaretjax]

automatic kudos for the John Maus:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/lying/

[iv3rdawG]

What are you "uh-ing"?

Nothing really.

[bleep]

anyone got a chance to catch The Headless Woman yet? i loved The Holy Girl, planning to squeeze in the director's latest sometime this weekend.

[M Sparks]

Nothing really.

I thought I was missing something, like a subliminal cock in the sand ripples or something.

[schoolofruckus]

anyone got a chance to catch The Headless Woman yet? i loved The Holy Girl, planning to squeeze in the director's latest sometime this weekend.

I'll be catching it this week. I haven't seen The Holy Girl, but the reviews on this film have been ridiculous since like Cannes 08.

[bleep]

I'll be catching it this week. I haven't seen The Holy Girl, but the reviews on this film have been ridiculous since like Cannes 08.
tonight i made a pit stop at the indie video store i sometimes frequent and they had the DVD in the new releases section! glad i can bypass a trip to west hollywood.

[Mr.Nipples]

loved district 9
inglorious basterds is tarantino's worst
antichrist is the most fucked up new release ive seen in a few years...can never hear 5:55 the same again...they better not touch a thing when its released here...

[nbvcide]

i had mentioned here or in another thread about the A-Team movie and Bradley Cooper playing Faceman.. just read that Mr T's character on the A-Team is being played by Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson.. not bad casting.

oh, and saw the new Bradley Cooper movie All About Steve, where he plays the lead character Steve.. for a movie with that name, he had like two lines in the last act.. reminded me of Transformers 2, that scene where the robots stood around in the background while the actors used badly written dialogue to explain an even worse plot.. and it was a rip-off of Management which only came out like four months ago..

& Extract isn't nearly as good as i'd hoped.. brilliant trailer, but only a couple other good laughs..

[woogie846]

I saw District 9 tonight with a couple of friends, I thought it was fantastic. Easily my favorite movie of the summer.

[clumsy342]

Interview and Clips from

Todd Solondz' Life During Wartime!

http://www.arte.tv/fr/2831876.html

[humanoid]

finally got around to seeing Public Enemies...I really wanted to like it a lot more than I did. The whole movie looked pretty and I enjoyed plenty of the robbery scenes, but the relationship between Depp and Edith Piaf (sorry I can't recall her name at the moment) felt a little forced and flimsy and the overall feel of the film was fairly flat. I am apparently only able to use adjectives beginning with F to describe this movie. I wasn't terribly disappointed, I just felt as if something was lacking in order for me to fully enjoy it. Maybe it was Christian Bale's fault.

Tonight, I'm looking forward to watching Waltz With Bashir

[schoolofruckus]

The Headless Woman was excellent - one of my favorite movies of the year so far. It was billed as an Antonioni descendent, and I thought the comparison was justified. It's not as profound as Antonioni's best work, but it's a wholly absorbing film that uses the obstruction of both fact and perspective to examine the condition of a wealthy dentist who is convinced she hit and killed a young boy. I'm anxious to see it again, but in the handful of hours since I saw it, it's only gotten better. Also, I'm going to have to put Lucrecia Martel on my list of directors to pay serious attention to.

[bleep]

Also, I'm going to have to put Lucrecia Martel on my list of directors to pay serious attention to.
yes, please do! she's only got two other full-length movies under her belt - The Holy Girl and La Cienaga. i enjoyed The Headless Woman, but still love The Holy Girl more.

[schoolofruckus]

The other thing about The Headless Woman is the sound design. It was one of the most audibly pleasurable films I can ever recall seeing. The sound was beautifully crafted and ever-effective. It's seriously worth seeing for this alone.



Another such film would be Aguirre, the Wrath of God, which I just watched tonight. This movie was amazing - a brilliant evocation of madness and megalomania at the mercy of nature. I thought as I was watching that it was seemingly a very direct predecessor of Apocalypse Now, and I'm reading now that Coppola was quite consciously influenced by it. Seeing as how this was my first experience with narrative Herzog, his catalog is another that I need to dive into.

[SoulDischarge]

Aguirre is probably my favorite film by Herzog, which is saying a lot because I fucking love Herzog. You need to check out Fitzcarraldo and then immediately watch the making of documentary, Burden Of Dreams, Heart Of Glass, Stroszek, The Enigma Of Kausper Hauer, his remake of Nosferatu, and Even Dwarves Started Small. There's other good stuff too, but those are his classics.

[Down Rodeo]

Aguirre: The Wrath of God is probably one of my 5 all-time favorite films.

[sbessiso]

(500) Days of Summer was cute but just not quite as good as I was hoping. The story started off well enough but it really begins to drag and it's essentially the same scenes over and over. I loved the fact that it was told out of sequence and the chemistry between the two is undeniable. Some of it was just TOO whimsical for me, a little of that goes a long way you know

[humanoid]

Aguirre is absolutely brilliant, and I truly loved Fitzcarraldo, but I think that Burden of Dreams is actually even more fascinating than the actual film. The madness of Herzog and Klaus Kinski is incredibly enthralling.

[roberto73]

I'll third (or fourth or fifth or whatever we're up to) the love for Aguirre. And yes, you definitely need to make Fitzcarraldo next on your Herzog list. I also have a potentially unreasonable amount of affection for Herzog's version of Nosferatu. Gabe, I know you don't especially like vampire movies, but Kinski's performance here is terrific.

[SoulDischarge]

Aguirre is absolutely brilliant, and I truly loved Fitzcarraldo, but I think that Burden of Dreams is actually even more fascinating than the actual film. The madness of Herzog and Klaus Kinski is incredibly enthralling.

I also have a potentially unreasonable amount of affection for Herzog's version of Nosferatu. Gabe, I know you don't especially like vampire movies, but Kinski's performance here is terrific.

Agreed on both accounts.

[AlecEiffel]

I think all the Herzog-Kinski collaborations are great, so let's not forget to mention Cobra Verde and Woyzeck, both of which are excellent. Also, Herzog's doc, My Best Fiend, about his relationship with Kinski is probably my favorite of his movies.

[wmgaretjax]

I'll echo the Herzog love with a very serious recommendation of seeing Lessons of Darkness and Fata Morgana as a double feature.

[AlecEiffel]

Worth the investment:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ZTFZ2YW0L._SS500_.jpg

[chairmenmeow47]

i really liked inglorious basterds. finally, a new QT movie i can get on board with. i enjoyed that the took the liberty of making an actual story and just re-writing history as they saw fit instead of trying to make something quasi-truthful. i also enjoyed all the big characters in the movie; everyone was over the top. the main SS guy was fabulous, just perfect. it was nice to see characters talking in their native tongue too.

the arclight was also awesome, having never been. the sound was a bit too loud at the beginning though.

we also watched i love you man. that was retarded and i'm glad we never went to the theatres to see it. there were some funny parts, but that whole "i'm a white guy who can't use cool catch phrases correctly" schtick was old by the end of 40 year old virgin. there was no need for an ENTIRE film of it, christ.

[PassiveTheory]

Inglourious Basterds = B
I felt like some of the scenes ran way too goddamn long, others weren't fleshed out enough, and there wasn't too much explanation as to anyone's motives aside from the Jewish characters in the film. It was fun, over the top, hilarious, and like a lot of other people, I enjoy that they went out of their way to re-write history; but they gave away the best scenes in the trailer, IMO.

Extract = B-
Well... This is kinda disappointing. I loved Idiocracy and Office Space and I loved Jason Bateman in Arrested Development, and you would think these things would work in concert together, but they don't. Kristen Wiig is severely underused, the scenes with David Koechner are overbearing and not funny at all, and Ben Affleck is passable. The film could have had more Mila Kunis, IMO.

[chairmenmeow47]

ya know, i actually loved that there wasn't a lot of explanation or backstory, specifically with regard to the basterds. randy said they had more of that in the original script or something, and i was kinda glad they kept that stuff out. i didn't really care. i mean, no one needs to explain their motivation for wanting to kill nazis to me. i honestly didn't care that much about the basterds themselves and really just enjoyed the overall caper. the whole shosanna story was much more interesting anyways.

but thankfully i didn't really see many trailers before seeing the movie, so i had a fresh pair of eyes :)

[sbessiso]

You loved Idiocracy?

[nbvcide]

Inglourious Basterds = B
I felt like some of the scenes ran way too goddamn long, others weren't fleshed out enough, and there wasn't too much explanation as to anyone's motives aside from the Jewish characters in the film. It was fun, over the top, hilarious, and like a lot of other people, I enjoy that they went out of their way to re-write history; but they gave away the best scenes in the trailer, IMO.

Extract = B-
Well... This is kinda disappointing. I loved Idiocracy and Office Space and I loved Jason Bateman in Arrested Development, and you would think these things would work in concert together, but they don't. Kristen Wiig is severely underused, the scenes with David Koechner are overbearing and not funny at all, and Ben Affleck is passable. The film could have had more Mila Kunis, IMO.

i think the gap between Extract & Basterds is a lot bigger than you give them credit for.. i woulda said C+ and A- personally.. Extract was really disappointing, especially considering how hilarious the full trailer is.. and i gotta disagree with you on the motivations in Basterds.. i think Shosanna's was self-evident (her motivation consisted of the entire prologue), and how much backstory do we really need to explain the motivations of nazis & jews? Hugo Stiglitz didn't have enough i think, but i loved the Harvey Keitel and Samuel L Jackson cameos..

also, for a Weinstein Co release, i think Crossing Over should have gotten a LOT more attention than it did.. totally Crash meets Babel..

[humanoid]

uh oh, Samuel L Jackson cameo? I hope I never have to see him again

[M Sparks]

uh oh, Samuel L Jackson cameo? I hope I never have to see him again

You won't, actually.

[AlecEiffel]

Where was Harvey Keitel?

[whynotsmile99]

where was the Harvey Kitel cameo? I totally missed him

[chairmenmeow47]

i thought i heard keitel, thanks for the reminder on that :)

[nbvcide]

where was the Harvey Kitel cameo? I totally missed him

he was the officer on the radio.. you didn't see him or Sam Jackson, but their voices made them recognizable..

[M Sparks]

he was the officer on the radio.. you didn't see him or Sam Jackson, but their voices made them recognizable..

POSSIBLE SPOILER BUT NOT REALLY

I thought it was cool that he was spelling out their orders on the radio almost like The Wolf.

[schoolofruckus]

OPl-O0Z5hys

[caco0283]

Gabe I don't understand why you love this guys work...he wrote one good screenplay....big deal

[schoolofruckus]

Why don't you and Randy discuss amongst yourselves?

[Hannahrain]

OfficeMax has branded a bunch of colorful kids' products "Schoolio Von Hoolio". There are signs up that say it all over. I'd have taken one for you today if I was more of a taking things kind of person.

[amyzzz]

i thought i heard keitel, thanks for the reminder on that :)
I'm glad I got that right. I thought that was Harvey Keitel too (or Robert DeNiro...). I watched the movie yesterday on my day off.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

i watched HARDCORE for the first time last night. I fucking love Paul Schrader. Watching George C Scott turn into a complete psychopath was utterly unnerving. Really terrific film. It's amazing how similar to it 8mm really is, just sensationalized the plot about 500%.

Speaking of Schrader, I've got Mesquito Coast coming soon and am looking forward to seeing that for the first time as well!

[schoolofruckus]

The Baader Meinhof Complex was disappointingly bland. I'd read that it was a political firebomb-type film that had virtually no chance of showing commercially in America; in truth, it feels like something that would not only play in Hollywood, but also be produced here. It told an interesting story that I knew very little about going in, but it was made with the slick, vapid style of a Jerry Bruckheimer TV series - decent action film chops (my friend Jeff said the director will almost certainly be hired to direct some Hollywood action franchise entry, which I agree with), but excessively glossy, inauthentic, and with virtually no interest in the inner workings of its characters. Not only that, but being someone who is not a proponent of fascism, it wasn't long before I felt alienated from the film's characters. There were small hints that the film/filmmakers had a conscience about the appalling actions the gang was committing, but it ends on a note of "German militia - FUCK YEAH!" that sealed my impression of its romantic intentions.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

rewatched Full Metal Jacket for the first time in probably 10 years last night. Fucking brilliant movie. i definitely got a lot more out of it now than i did in high school. Some of the most amazing cinematography I've ever seen

[AlecEiffel]

Has anyone seen 9 yet?

[amyzzz]

Phoenix ppl: It Might Get Loud is playing tonight at Harkins Camelview in Scottsdale.

Harkins Camelview 5

7001 East Highland Avenue, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480)947-8778

11:10am | 1:30pm | 4:15pm | 6:45pm | 9:15pm

(sorry, double post)

[PassiveTheory]

...and i gotta disagree with you on the motivations in Basterds.. i think Shosanna's was self-evident (her motivation consisted of the entire prologue), and how much backstory do we really need to explain the motivations of nazis & jews? Hugo Stiglitz didn't have enough i think, but i loved the Harvey Keitel and Samuel L Jackson cameos.

Ahem:

...and there wasn't too much explanation as to anyone's motives aside from the Jewish characters in the film.

SPOILER ALERT LOOK AWAY IF YOU HAVENT SEEN THE MOVIE YET....
























Yeah I know that a primary number of characters in the movie WERE Jewish, but, for example, did Hans Landa KNOW that the Germans were losing the war? Because otherwise, why would he betray Hitler?

[AlecEiffel]

Landa made it pretty clear that he had no particular allegiance to Hitler, he was just doing a job he was particularly good at. He saw a way that he could come out ahead and he took it.

[PassiveTheory]

Landa made it pretty clear that he had no particular allegiance to Hitler, he was just doing a job he was particularly good at. He saw a way that he could come out ahead and he took it.

True, especially the first two accounts. I feel like if the movie had played up the state of the war effort turning sour a little more that Landa's turn would have made more sense. Nothing in the film indicates that Nazi Germany was on the verge of collapse (just reeling from Aldo's Apaches) and I'd like to think of Landa as someone who isn't a chance-taker but a calculated opportunist.

[AlecEiffel]

That's the thing, it didn't really matter which way the war was going because nearly every major power in the German government was going to be killed that night and in the fantasy world in which this movie took place that was going to be enough to end the war.

[rage patton]

I saw Inglourious Basterds last night... and I have no idea how so many can claim this is Tarantino's worst. I loved it. What is not to love about the movie? A bunch of Nazis are brutally killed by the hand of a bunch of angry Jews and Hitler dies. Fucking awesome enough for me. With that being said, it certainly wasn't Tarantino's best. I loved the dialoge for the most part, but the scene of the rendezvous in the bar went on a little too long. I felt like there was an intense amount of tension and suspense building... then it went on a little too long and lost it. Then everyone died. That frusterated me. But yeah, I think a lot of people are being far too harsh on this movie and I cannot understand why.

I also saw District 9 (catching up on movies I missed while I was away) and even though it was a lot different than I expected, I loved it.

[amyzzz]

Inglourious Basterds was fun. LIKED IT.

[TommyboyUNM]

I saw Inglourious Basterds last night... and I have no idea how so many can claim this is Tarantino's worst. I loved it. What is not to love about the movie? A bunch of Nazis are brutally killed by the hand of a bunch of angry Jews and Hitler dies. Fucking awesome enough for me. With that being said, it certainly wasn't Tarantino's best. I loved the dialoge for the most part, but the scene of the rendezvous in the bar went on a little too long. I felt like there was an intense amount of tension and suspense building... then it went on a little too long and lost it. Then everyone died. That frusterated me. But yeah, I think a lot of people are being far too harsh on this movie and I cannot understand why.

I haven't seen it yet, Josh. Thanks.

[unknown]

funny joke, mr. seen the movie twice.

[TommyboyUNM]

funny joke, mr. seen the movie twice.

Unless you were actually THERE when I saw it, you can't prove that I wasn't lying about seeing it.

[amyzzz]

Tommy lied to me too.

[humanoid]

Unless you were actually THERE when I saw it, you can't prove that I wasn't lying about seeing it.

you were there, I saw you. But I haven't seen it yet, I was too busy watching you watch it.

[unknown]

Your poor memory is already failing you at the ripe age of 27?

Let me refresh your memory, AMC theater, matinee, fashion valley mall, San Diego, the Sunday after Street Scene. Where were you?

[amyzzz]

Holy shit.

[TommyboyUNM]

I was sitting next to some chick with glasses who wouldn't stop talking. So I missed the entire movie and didn't see Hitler die.

[Alligator Bogaloo]

Inglourious Basterds was fun. LIKED IT.

Nothing says fun like scalping nazis and bashing their heads in with a baseball bat.

I was sitting next to some chick with glasses who wouldn't stop talking. So I missed the entire movie and didn't see Hitler die.

ugh...i hate when girls with glasses talk through the whole movie. Were they constantly using their iphone too? :nono

[unknown]

You guys are assholes.




=)

[amyzzz]

Nothing says fun like scalping nazis and bashing their heads in with a baseball bat.

Only Tarantino can make that hilarious.

[M Sparks]

i watched HARDCORE for the first time last night.

Turn it off.

Turn it off.

TURN IT OFF!!!

When I was in high school, I saw this in a clumsily edited TV version. There a scene where he talks to a girl in a peep booth. They only showed the portion of the conversation where the camera was behind her. It was a tad hard to follow.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

ha ha ha I can't really imagine that movie being on television. It would definitely be a difficult one to make consumable. Lots of nudity and swearing up the wazoo

[iv3rdawG]

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/6315/antichristposteraustral.jpg

Link that I posted about which theaters are playing it should work now:

http://office.mammothnyc.com/ifcschedule/films/antichrist/

[iv3rdawG]

Also, brand new trailer for the movie:

WCwVYHUuK_E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCwVYHUuK_E

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

that's actually the first footage I've seen from Antichrist, a film i really only am aware about because of this thread. It actually looks quite good. I've read very little about it. I wonder how prepared I am for whatever happens in it that is so awful

Also, watched another great older movie last night - Sydney Pollack's Absence of Malice.
http://www.ijpc.org/IJPC%20Sob%20Sister%20Photos/absence%202.jpg
Fucking great investigative drama about the effects of media...right up there with all the president's men, broadcast news, and network. Very effective performances from both Paul Newman and Sally Field (who I forgot was so gorgeous when she was younger), but I was especially blown away by a young Bob Balaban, who was a total scene stealer throughout.

[amyzzz]

I will have to check that out. I love Network, and I like a lot of Sydney Pollack's work (my mom went to high school with him. haha).

[RotationSlimWang]

So I just saw District 9. Holy shit that was good. Every time I thought it was about to turn into Starship Troopers it didn't. Stayed pretty smart throughout. What complaints did any of you mouth-breathers have about it?

Oh, and now that I'm able to personally address whoever it was who said that the catfood scenes looked like catfood was meant to be a drug--you're an asshole. Nothing about their experiences were remotely drug-like. You basically just automatically translated "craving" into "drugs." They didn't look like they were addicted to drugs. They looked like they were addicted to food.

[TallGuyCM]

I never thought the catfood was supposed to symbolize drugs. Thought the movie was decent...what I liked most was that it was land-based and wasn't all spaceships/gunfire and all that shit.

It did seem to drag, though, and seemed to be all leading up to an epic ending that never really ended up happening.

[RotationSlimWang]

The very very end was a bit weak, but whattaya gonna do? It's not easily to capitalize on a setup like that. It did a very intelligent and rarely predictable job of dealing with a premise just aching to be trashed up and handled sloppily.

[TallGuyCM]

I'm not one that goes crazy over stuff in a movie like character development, but the transformation of Wikus from a hesitant naive nobody to somewhat of a primitive lunatic badass was great. Perfectly casted and well acted.

[schoolofruckus]

I watched Tarkovsky's The Mirror last night. The Kino DVD was awful - poor transfer, bad audio, and only about half the dialogue was subtitled - but the film itself was magnificent. It's a piece of autobiographical impressionism in which Tarkovsky uses reenactments of his dreams alongside archival footage to explore his relationship with his mother. I liked it as much as Andrei Rublev and Solyaris, which is to say a lot.

[rage patton]

I'm not one that goes crazy over stuff in a movie like character development, but the transformation of Wikus from a hesitant naive nobody to somewhat of a primitive lunatic badass was great. Perfectly casted and well acted.

The guy who played Wikkus was brilliant. Very well acted. I really hope I start seeing him in more movies.

[SoulDischarge]

I finally finished watching Andrei Rublev a day or two ago. I really just haven't been in the mood to watch slow moving philosophical foreign movies lately, so it took me like 2 weeks to get all the way through it. So far, Mirror is my favorite movie I've seen by Tarkovsky.

[AlecEiffel]

Oh, and now that I'm able to personally address whoever it was who said that the catfood scenes looked like catfood was meant to be a drug--you're an asshole. Nothing about their experiences were remotely drug-like. You basically just automatically translated "craving" into "drugs." They didn't look like they were addicted to drugs. They looked like they were addicted to food.

Not getting into this argument again, but I still disagree.

[RotationSlimWang]

Not getting into this argument again, but I still disagree.

So you're still an idiot. Surprise, surprise.

[AlecEiffel]

The guy who played Wikkus was brilliant. Very well acted. I really hope I start seeing him in more movies.

It looks like he's going to play Murdock in the A-Team movie.

[AlecEiffel]

So you're still an idiot. Surprise, surprise.

ok, whatever.

[nbvcide]

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/6315/antichristposteraustral.jpg

THAT. IS. BLOODY. BRILLIANT.

that's actually the first footage I've seen from Antichrist, a film i really only am aware about because of this thread.

i understand wanting to keep it a surpise, but there IS a link a few pages back to a scene of the movie..


Oh, and now that I'm able to personally address whoever it was who said that the catfood scenes looked like catfood was meant to be a drug--you're an asshole. Nothing about their experiences were remotely drug-like. You basically just automatically translated "craving" into "drugs." They didn't look like they were addicted to drugs. They looked like they were addicted to food.

in the movie, they say it has the effect of catnip.. and they obv seem very addicted to it and willing to do almost anything for it.. even take real shitty deals to get a little bit of it.. i think meth or something similar could be the metaphor, but certainly not hallucinogens or anything like that, which is what i think you were expecting based on what you read..

[schoolofruckus]

I just watched Godard's 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her. And....wow. It's a HELL of a lot to digest, but I'm inclined to think right now that it's my second-favorite of his films behind Weekend. It's certainly the most profound film I think he's made, employing his distinctly jarring, fuck-the-fourth-wall style to explore no less than the nature of reality.

[RotationSlimWang]

in the movie, they say it has the effect of catnip.. and they obv seem very addicted to it and willing to do almost anything for it.. even take real shitty deals to get a little bit of it.. i think meth or something similar could be the metaphor, but certainly not hallucinogens or anything like that, which is what i think you were expecting based on what you read..

No, that's even remotely what I'm saying.

My point is that something about the prawn DNA makes them really love eating catfood. As we see in the scene where Mikus or whatever the fuck his name was when he was eating it, it didn't really seem to have any intoxicating effects. It was just a craving for food. How would a starving refugee react to food? Suppose it is like catnip--does that really make the appropriate analogy drugs?

It's just a silly and stupid point. The point isn't that we use this drug-like substance to fuck over the aliens, but rather that the aliens really really crave this one thing and we use our control over it to fuck them over. The much more appropriate corollary is anything that a refugee really really needs and craves--food, water, medicine. We fucked the Indians with beads in a similar fashion. I just don't think that analogy remotely holds any relevance to the social commentary of the piece.


I did find one thing I kinda disapprove of about the movie--at no point does the main character Whatever-The-Fuck-His-Name-Is become remotely likable. In retrospect there's really no part of the movie where he has a decent change of character and become someone you can get behind in any way. Never really redeems himself, just kinda acts like a big pussy from beginning to end, even when he's in a fucking Mech suit.

[TallGuyCM]

Just got done watching Rashomon for the first time. My first real delve into classic foreign film, and damn, that was really a great movie. Very good flow, even with the obvious subtitles it didn't drag at all and had the perfect amount of intensity without overdoing it. I also really enjoyed Robert Altman's "intro" included in the DVD (which would have ruined the movie if I hadn't watched it afterwards).

At a running time of only 88 minutes, I couldn't help but think that if Hollywood were to produce an American film that addressed similar themes and storylines that it would have to be somewhere around 2 and a half hours long. Because if there's one thing that Hollywood doesn't know how to do it's the art of shaving off the excess fat and GETTING TO THE FUCKING POINT.

But yeah, aside from Pan's Labyrinth a few years ago this is really my first experience with foreign film, and I would greatly appreciate anyone's recommendations for further viewing in this genre, especially something of similar caliber to Rashomon.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

I watched Peter Weir and Paul Schrader's The Mosquito Coast for the first time tonight
http://www.alemming.us/DVD/mosquitocoast.jpg
Brilliant film that touched on a lot of subjects, the focal point (to me) being the role of Father in a family structure and the devastating effects that the breakdown of a father's psyche has on said structure. The performances all around in the film are pretty amazing, but Harrison Ford's in particular is pretty bravura considering what he had done before and has since. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

[Down Rodeo]

But yeah, aside from Pan's Labyrinth a few years ago this is really my first experience with foreign film, and I would greatly appreciate anyone's recommendations for further viewing in this genre, especially something of similar caliber to Rashomon.

Check out Ingmar Bergman. I would start with The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries, then work your way up to Persona, Cries and Whispers, and Fanny & Alexander.

[TallGuyCM]

Check out Ingmar Bergman. I would start with The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries, then work your way up to Persona, Cries and Whispers, and Fanny & Alexander.

Thank you!

[Down Rodeo]

I just watched Godard's 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her. And....wow. It's a HELL of a lot to digest, but I'm inclined to think right now that it's my second-favorite of his films behind Weekend. It's certainly the most profound film I think he's made, employing his distinctly jarring, fuck-the-fourth-wall style to explore no less than the nature of reality.

Have you seen A Woman is a Woman yet? I just checked that out the other night, and I think it was the easiest Godard movie for me to enjoy at first viewing. I still need to see his other "classic" films like Contempt & Band of Outsiders, but I always have a hard time getting really involved in his films. I appreciate Godard more than I love him.

[SoulDischarge]

But yeah, aside from Pan's Labyrinth a few years ago this is really my first experience with foreign film, and I would greatly appreciate anyone's recommendations for further viewing in this genre, especially something of similar caliber to Rashomon.

http://www.criterion.com/ There's a few WTF releases, but it's as good a canon as any.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

ooh, checking through the Criterion site, i see they just did a new release of Repulsion on Blu Ray...that's a commentary i'd be very interested in hearing

[Alligator Bogaloo]

Just got done watching Rashomon for the first time. My first real delve into classic foreign film, and damn, that was really a great movie. Very good flow, even with the obvious subtitles it didn't drag at all and had the perfect amount of intensity without overdoing it. I also really enjoyed Robert Altman's "intro" included in the DVD (which would have ruined the movie if I hadn't watched it afterwards).

At a running time of only 88 minutes, I couldn't help but think that if Hollywood were to produce an American film that addressed similar themes and storylines that it would have to be somewhere around 2 and a half hours long. Because if there's one thing that Hollywood doesn't know how to do it's the art of shaving off the excess fat and GETTING TO THE FUCKING POINT.

But yeah, aside from Pan's Labyrinth a few years ago this is really my first experience with foreign film, and I would greatly appreciate anyone's recommendations for further viewing in this genre, especially something of similar caliber to Rashomon.

You should check out some of Kurosawa's other films. Start with The Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, and Yojimbo.

[SoulDischarge]

Oooh. Wings Of Desire. I'm surprised it's taken this long. Although, I'd be pissed off if I bought movies instead of burning them with all these re-releases.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

i just keep a perpetual netflix account now, it's easy enough to re-qeaue movies

[iv3rdawG]

Newer foreign films worth watching:

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (still my favorite in recent years)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

also, Waltz With Bashir, easily one of my favorties films of last year

http://moviebanter.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/waltz_with_bashir.jpg

[amyzzz]

Jacob bought the Criterion version of Sword of Doom a while back, but we haven't watched it yet. Anyone seen it? Is it worth watching?

[Alligator Bogaloo]

Yes, I have Sword of Doom, it's a great old samurai movie.

[humanoid]

also, Waltz With Bashir, easily one of my favorties films of last year

http://moviebanter.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/waltz_with_bashir.jpg

I really wanted to like Waltz with Bashir more than I did. The animation was brilliant and truly beautiful at times, but I found myself slightly bored during the film. I couldn't pinpoint the reason at the time, maybe I'll eventually have to give it another fresh chance.

[schoolofruckus]

Have you seen A Woman is a Woman yet? I just checked that out the other night, and I think it was the easiest Godard movie for me to enjoy at first viewing. I still need to see his other "classic" films like Contempt & Band of Outsiders, but I always have a hard time getting really involved in his films. I appreciate Godard more than I love him.

I haven't yet. I've figured out that I love later Godard (my favorites being Weekend, 2 or 3 Things, Masculin Feminin, and Pierrot le fou), whereas I'm less impressed by his early stuff (Contempt, Vivre sa vie and yes, Breathless). So I'm working my way backward through his Cinematic period.

TallChris, you should watch the first four movies listed in the above paragraph.

[higgybaby23]

I enjoyed Inglorious Basterds, but it is now my least favorite of Tarantino's films. It equals Deathproof in my personal enjoyment. My wife loved it and she doesn't normally enjoy ultraviolence. She said that the violence didn't bother her because it seemed appropriate for the situations. The Shoshana storyline was the best part of the film for me.

This film has me wondering: Could Tarantino pull off a pure comedy? All of his movies have some comedic elements.

[TallGuyCM]

My wife loved it and she doesn't normally enjoy ultraviolence. She said that the violence didn't bother her because it seemed appropriate for the situations.

See, that's what I noticed and appreciated about Rashomon. The violence took place off-screen and you never actually saw the sword slicing the person open. It leaves the violent act up to the viewer's own mind, instead of showing someone's head blow up. I realize excessive violence is Tarantino's calling card, but still. It gets overdone and old to me.

And School, Soul, Alligator - many thanks for the recommendations. My queue is suddenly exciting and plentiful and I look forward to discussing these films in the near future.

[Down Rodeo]

I haven't yet. I've figured out that I love later Godard (my favorites being Weekend, 2 or 3 Things, Masculin Feminin, and Pierrot le fou), whereas I'm less impressed by his early stuff (Contempt, Vivre sa vie and yes, Breathless). So I'm working my way backward through his Cinematic period.


That's funny, my feelings right now are the exact opposite. I've enjoyed Godard's early work much more than the later stuff. I found myself spending most of the time confused during Weekend, Pierrot le Fou, etc. and I really have no emotional response to any film. Maybe time/re-viewings will reverse my opinions.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

a classic foreign language film everyone should see, Black Orpheus

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Yt3M33fzOLA/R1P7vAMPM3I/AAAAAAAADp8/9q7R-ZXrjg4/s1600-R/072.jpg

[tessalasset]

I know I'm a month late but I finally got around to seeing Basterds and I absolutely LOVED it. Possibly my favorite movie I've seen this year.

[iv3rdawG]

Christoph Waltz, who is generating raves for his role as a Nazi colonel in "Inglourious Basterds," has signed on to play the villain in Columbia Pictures' action comedy "The Green Hornet."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118008576.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

[wmgaretjax]

That's funny, my feelings right now are the exact opposite. I've enjoyed Godard's early work much more than the later stuff. I found myself spending most of the time confused during Weekend, Pierrot le Fou, etc. and I really have no emotional response to any film. Maybe time/re-viewings will reverse my opinions.

Then my goofy opinion puts Weekend and Vivre sa vie at the top...

Not to be difficult or anything...

[wmgaretjax]

Check out Ingmar Bergman. I would start with The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries, then work your way up to Persona, Cries and Whispers, and Fanny & Alexander.

This is a good recommendation... I definitely think Wild Strawberries is the place to start.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

i have only seen the seventh seal of of bergman's...and I love it. I need to dig deeper into his work. As for Godard, I've only seenBreathless and it was pretty damn good. I've got at least a half dozen or more of his flicks in my Netflix queue though

[SoulDischarge]

What I like about Godard and what makes even his most unorthodox films, such as Weekend, easier to digest is his sense of humor.

[nbvcide]

No, that's even remotely what I'm saying.

My point is that something about the prawn DNA makes them really love eating catfood. As we see in the scene where Mikus or whatever the fuck his name was when he was eating it, it didn't really seem to have any intoxicating effects. It was just a craving for food. How would a starving refugee react to food? Suppose it is like catnip--does that really make the appropriate analogy drugs?

It's just a silly and stupid point. The point isn't that we use this drug-like substance to fuck over the aliens, but rather that the aliens really really crave this one thing and we use our control over it to fuck them over. The much more appropriate corollary is anything that a refugee really really needs and craves--food, water, medicine. We fucked the Indians with beads in a similar fashion. I just don't think that analogy remotely holds any relevance to the social commentary of the piece.


I did find one thing I kinda disapprove of about the movie--at no point does the main character Whatever-The-Fuck-His-Name-Is become remotely likable. In retrospect there's really no part of the movie where he has a decent change of character and become someone you can get behind in any way. Never really redeems himself, just kinda acts like a big pussy from beginning to end, even when he's in a fucking Mech suit.

True..

[higgybaby23]

a classic foreign language film everyone should see, Black Orpheus

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Yt3M33fzOLA/R1P7vAMPM3I/AAAAAAAADp8/9q7R-ZXrjg4/s1600-R/072.jpg

It has a great soundtrack as well which feature Antonio Carlos Jobim compositions.

[schoolofruckus]

What I like about Godard and what makes even his most unorthodox films, such as Weekend, easier to digest is his sense of humor.

The part in 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her when the kid tells his mom about his "Vietnam" dream had me fucking howling.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

It has a great soundtrack as well which feature Antonio Carlos Jobim compositions.

yes, the music throughout the film is all fucking astounding!

[Down Rodeo]

Then my goofy opinion puts Weekend and Vivre sa vie at the top...

Not to be difficult or anything...

I wouldn't expect anything less than a contrary opinion from you :)

By the way, have you seen Thirst yet? We should maybe go check that out.

[Mr.Nipples]

I just finished watching Chickenhawk about a half hour ago. what in theeee fuck....

[schoolofruckus]

I wouldn't expect anything less than a contrary opinion from you :)

By the way, have you seen Thirst yet? We should maybe go check that out.

You should maybe skip it. Actually, I can't say that. But I can advise you to see The Headless Woman instead (or at least first).

[wmgaretjax]

By the way, have you seen Thirst yet? We should maybe go check that out.

Hell yes. I have a week off school next week. Maybe then? Or something else. I'm not feeling picky these days. If you haven't seen Basterds, I'm down with that as well.

[M Sparks]

I just finished watching Chickenhawk about a half hour ago. what in theeee fuck....

Izzat the NAMBA movie?

EDIT...I meant NAMBLA. NAMBA is the Boy Scouts

[Alligator Bogaloo]

The Rabbi is busy...

<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7iggyFPls4w&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7iggyFPls4w&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>

[TallGuyCM]

So I just got done watching David Lynch's Eraserhead for the first time. As expected, it was pretty much one big WTF throughout the entire film. But it was one of the only movies of his that I hadn't seen, so it had to be done.

Edit: Has anyone watched the entire Twin Peaks series? I was too young to stay up that late when it aired in the early '90s, but have always been interested in it. I watched the movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me when I was in middle school and it really weirded me out.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

Just finished Paul Verhoeven's Black Book, his Dutch-language sprawling WWII exploitation epic. It's pretty fucking great. There are actually a lot of similarities with Inglorious Basterds in the sense of it being something of Jewish woman undercover revenge fantasty, but without the tongue in cheek winks to the audience.

Certainly the best Verhoeven flick in a long time, and my God, Carice van houten is stunning to look at, and a fantastic actress to boot!

[amyzzz]

I loved Twin Peaks when it aired on TV, but I tried watching it again recently and couldn't get through season 1. David Lynch soap opera.

[AlecEiffel]

Watch Twin Peaks, without a doubt or delay.

[wmgaretjax]

I wouldn't bother with anything other than Season 1...

[M Sparks]

I loved Twin Peaks when it aired on TV, but I tried watching it again recently and couldn't get through season 1. David Lynch soap opera.

I think it got more credit than it was worth because of the time. TV was awful then, so anything different looked brilliant.

[Mr.Nipples]

UDsrxpxUkQM&hl=en&fs=1&
t7yYZooxH1k&hl=en&fs=1&

[SoulDischarge]

I want to see that in a packed theater.

I just watched Bound. I was expecting/hoping for it to be some really awful, campy erotic thriller in the vein of Basic Instinct, and there were moments of it, but I was pretty surprised with how solid of a movie it actually turned out to be. Nothing transcendent, but really well made, tense, and entertaining without taking itself too seriously. I enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than The Matrix, that's for sure.

By the way, I think we may have had this conversation before, but I need some more recommendations. What film critics or criticism sources do you usually trust? I'll usually read Ebert, Village Voice, and the Onion A.V. Club first, but I still could use a few more reliable sources.

[MissingPerson]

Bound is a great film. Once it gets past the cheekily porny "Ooh-er missus, can-you-fix-my-plumbing?" bit, it's a tight little thriller with some really clever plotting. I loves it.

[MissingPerson]

Hey, what the hell happened to Gina Gershon?

[SoulDischarge]

What the hell happened to her face is what I want to know.

[MissingPerson]

The DVD commentary for Bound is hilarious, by the way. It was recorded back in ye olden days for Laserdisc, and the cast keep hushing up so they won't interrupt the movie. Also, they have a sex consultant.

[AlecEiffel]

By the way, I think we may have had this conversation before, but I need some more recommendations. What film critics or criticism sources do you usually trust? I'll usually read Ebert, Village Voice, and the Onion A.V. Club first, but I still could use a few more reliable sources.

Vern (www.outlawvern.com)

He reviews both first run movies and old action/horror and straight to video stuff, and he's completley hilarious.

[Still-ill]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51raHRKHdYL._SL500.jpg

Saw this gem last night while waiting for a client last night. This is the apex of entertainment. This has everything you want in a movie. Laughs, drama, violence, sports, technological advancements, amazing cinematography. Dad's always working and never has time to come to Justin's baseball games. Older brother Tyler models himself after Chet in "Weird Science". What's Justin to do? Naturally, plant subliminal suggestions in Mom and Dad's stop-smoking self-hypnosis tapes. Before long, Justin and little sister Monica are living large. How long can it last before Mom and Dad learn that they're being manipulated? The treacherous older brother spends the majority of the movie trying to figure out whats going on before [SPOILER ALERT]being sent to military school by his hypnotized parents. The other antagonist is The father's boss, who works the workaholic dad into the ground.
SPOLER ALERT
Near the end of the film the Boss goes completely apeshit after being revealed as cheat and a ruthless taskmaster. He graps a paintball gun, a real live m-16, and a couple grenades from his office and shoots up the CEO's car then threatens to throw a grenade at some young children if he isn't given his job back. It was an expertly shot scene. I could feel his pain but felt no sympathy. It was expert moviemaking. Oh yeah, and the Dad farts in the hall way after having a serious conversation with his son, then looks back embarrassingly at the camera. That was the best part.

[M Sparks]

How'd they score Joanna Kerns? That's a casting coup right there.

[schoolofruckus]

I want to see that in a packed theater.

I just watched Bound. I was expecting/hoping for it to be some really awful, campy erotic thriller in the vein of Basic Instinct, and there were moments of it, but I was pretty surprised with how solid of a movie it actually turned out to be. Nothing transcendent, but really well made, tense, and entertaining without taking itself too seriously. I enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than The Matrix, that's for sure.

By the way, I think we may have had this conversation before, but I need some more recommendations. What film critics or criticism sources do you usually trust? I'll usually read Ebert, Village Voice, and the Onion A.V. Club first, but I still could use a few more reliable sources.

I personally like Karina Longworth on Spout (http://blog.spout.com), but she only writes maybe 2-3 times a week.

I also read Hollywood Elsewhere, but he's not a great critic or really all that reliable in terms of taste - he's way too skewed towards mainstream Hollywood, although he's steered me towards a lot of forgotten and foreign classics. It's just a great, frequently updated read about movies.

[Still-ill]

How'd they score Joanna Kerns? That's a casting coup right there.

Also Robert Hayes from Airplane. The Kid freaking out on the cover looked familiar as well.

[TallGuyCM]

I personally can't watch Joanna Kerns without picturing Alan Thicke standing next to her making wisecracks and wearing ugly shirts.

[M Sparks]

Also Robert Hayes from Airplane.

And Larry "Frank Burns" Linville and Richard "Bull The Balliff" Moll!

Epic.

[PassiveTheory]

So... what's the verdict on 9?

[JustSteve]

7...

[sbessiso]

So... what's the verdict on 9?

It was entertaining enough. I thought it had some really great action scenes and the designs for those monsters were intense. I liked it is what im saying

[SoulDischarge]

Pretty much that. And the ending was really really gay.

[cubrocker]

this looks like it could be cool or freakin terrible
(blair witch project anyone?)

F_UxLEqd074

[RotationSlimWang]

7...

If you're referencing what I think you're referencing, you just reminded me of one of my favorite board moments ever.

[nicolemxo]

Watch Twin Peaks, without a doubt or delay.

Agreed. I will say, though, that the second season disappointed me in a number of ways. The greatness of Special Agent Dale Cooper and Lynch's own Gordon Cole still made it worth watching.

[Still-ill]

The finale to season two left me pretty amazed. Get both seasons and enjoy.

[nicolemxo]

it's been awhile since I watched it, but I feel the supporting cast got the shaft at the end of that season. All the focus was on Dale Cooper and no one else.

[AlecEiffel]

Which is how it should have been, really. That show, while great, did have a tendency to get bogged down by uninteresting (in comparison to the main course) b stories.

[sbessiso]

this looks like it could be cool or freakin terrible
(blair witch project anyone?)

F_UxLEqd074

Not writing off the movie yet but this is just a terrible trailer

[M Sparks]

it's been awhile since I watched it, but I feel the supporting cast got the shaft at the end of that season. All the focus was on Dale Cooper and no one else.

I worked in a video/music store in the early 90's and the guy who played Ed Hurley used to shop there. He would always order these seemingly random movies on Laserdisc. We finally figured out he was in them all. (This was before IMDB of course.)

Later I saw The People Under The Stairs...it was a bit hard to take him seriously as the crazy villain...I just kept picturing him asking "Can I get a laserdisc of Dune?"

[nicolemxo]

Has anyone seen "Jennifer's Body" at all? Thoughts?

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

i watched the original Fame this weekend mostly because my girlfriend is excited about the new one and had no idea it's a remake. it's actually pretty damn good, but man it's weird seeing the guy who gets his face melted off by acid in Robocop playing a pschologically traumitized teenager struggling with his homosexuality

[RotationSlimWang]

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs247.snc1/9425_558390598889_28801559_33119344_5596563_n.jpg

[M Sparks]

my girlfriend is excited about the new one and had no idea it's a remake.

I remember, even as a horny kid, being disturbed by the crying forced strip scene. I bet they leave that out of the new one.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

I remember, even as a horny kid, being disturbed by the crying forced strip scene. I bet they leave that out of the new one.

hahaha i actually put the movie on my queue a couple months back because i was listening to Mr. Show commentaries and they mentioned that the streaker episode where david throws Bob's clothes at him and yells "PUT THEM ON!!!" and Bob starts crying was a direct reference to that scene and I had to see it for myself

[AlecEiffel]

I remember, even as a horny kid, being disturbed by the crying forced strip scene. I bet they leave that out of the new one.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that this new one is rated PG.

[humanoid]

Has anyone seen "Jennifer's Body" at all? Thoughts?

I feel like I've seen it after seeing the commercial about 10,000 times. I don't even watch that much TV and I still feel overwhelmed by it.

[M Sparks]

Has anyone seen "Jennifer's Body" at all? Thoughts?

It appears I was onto something when I said it was a Ginger Snaps ripoff. (http://tinyurl.com/n9f7qf)

[TallGuyCM]

So now that my Netflix queue is full with all of your wonderful recommendations, I've decided to alternate between classic film and mindless entertainment to avoid getting burnt out on old movies, which happened when I overloaded my queue with various classics 5 years ago.

Which tonight led me to Adventureland, which to say the least, was misleading if you saw the advertisements for it. The movie in itself never really decided what it wanted to be...it started out part American Pie (which I went into it thinking it was going to be), then seemed to go in an Almost Famous kind of direction, but settling for a poor rendition of Fast Times at Ridgemont High ultimately.

I mean, you only watch a movie like that to be entertained and nothing more right? Well it started off strangely well announcing that the score was done by Yo La Tengo, and with the VU's "Here She Comes Now" leading the way through the opening credits. And the whole movie seemed like it wanted to be credible musically..."Satellite of Love" was more than merely mentioned in the flick, and "Pale Blue Eyes" made 2 different appearances throughout the course of the movie.

It's just hard to take something seriously that plays some of the Velvets/Lou Reed's best material, but then minutes later sandwiches it between Whitesnake and Crowded House.

It just didn't work.

[roberto73]

Which tonight led me to Adventureland, which to say the least, was misleading if you saw the advertisements for it. The movie in itself never really decided what it wanted to be...it started out part American Pie (which I went into it thinking it was going to be), then seemed to go in an Almost Famous kind of direction, but settling for a poor rendition of Fast Times at Ridgemont High ultimately.

I mean, you only watch a movie like that to be entertained and nothing more right? Well it started off strangely well announcing that the score was done by Yo La Tengo, and with the VU's "Here She Comes Now" leading the way through the opening credits. And the whole movie seemed like it wanted to be credible musically..."Satellite of Love" was more than merely mentioned in the flick, and "Pale Blue Eyes" made 2 different appearances throughout the course of the movie.

It's just hard to take something seriously that plays some of the Velvets/Lou Reed's best material, but then minutes later sandwiches it between Whitesnake and Crowded House.

It just didn't work.

I thought Adventureland was terrific, but definitely mismarketed (blame the studio for trying to capitalize on Greg Mottola just having directed Superbad). And I think I've got just enough years on you to feel like the soundtrack was exactly right for that part of the country in '87. I was in high school in Ohio at the time, and the music selection is pretty much how I remember it: The Replacements, Lou Reed, and Hüsker Dü at home; Whitesnake and Crowded House on the radio. I feel like the soundtrack really captured the schism between popular music and the underground stuff that was just starting to bubble up into the mainstream at the time. The inclusion of songs at either end of the musical credibility spectrum works really well for me because it accurately captures that moment in time, when you didn't hear "alternative" music anywhere other than on your own stereo.

[M Sparks]

Yeah, I thought that was kind of the point with the soundtrack. He so hated the music they played at the park...it was there for contrast. The use of music was absolutely the strongest part of that film (cause it sure wasn't the relationship...I wasn't buying it.)

Also, maybe it was just the mood I was in, but I felt like The Outfield's "Your Love" justified it's existence by being the perfect spice to the scene it was in. On the other hand, I had read an article talking about the INXS song at the end and how perfect it was. I guess the editor suggested it, but they couldn't afford it. Editor put it in a rough cut anyway, and the director had to beg the studio for $20,000 or whatever so they could keep it. Anyway, it was fine, but I didn't see why it was such a perfect punctuation.

List of songs here...
http://reelsoundtrack.wordpress.com/2009/04/03/adventureland-soundtrack/

[schoolofruckus]

I'm getting really sick of not knowing when Enter the Void and The Tree of Life are being released.

[iv3rdawG]

I'm getting really sick of not knowing when Enter the Void and The Tree of Life are being released.

It might just be for France, but the Wild Bunch site says something about the 1st quarter of 2010. It's in French:

http://www.wildbunch-distribution.com/fichefilm.php?id=98

(No distributor has stepped up for a whole host of reasons, but I could see the drug-addled midnight audiences of today embracing it in the same way cult audiences of yesteryear embraced El Topo or Liquid Sky.)

http://www.avclub.com/articles/toronto-film-festival-09-day-6,32931/

We can hope that the AFI Fest gets it.

There are pictures too:

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/2894/enterthevoid711250.jpg

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/9089/photo03hiresn.jpg

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/6713/1800photo1enu.jpg

[schoolofruckus]

We can hope that the AFI Fest gets it.

We sure the fuck do.

On that note - AFI 2009 is off to a GREAT start. (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/awards/2009/09/afi-fest-2009-announces-titles-herzog-joonho-among-selection.html) Un Prophete, Police, Adjective, Trash Humpers, Precious, Mother, Red Riding Trilogy, and Herzog's Bad Lieutenant are all films I will endeavor to see at AFI.

[RotationSlimWang]

So it looks like I have a meeting with some financiers in NY lined up for my return to the East in November. The delightful catch? They're Russians who work in waste management.

[chairmenmeow47]

movies the sickly ivysaur has seen recently:

chinatown

LOVED this. polanski has a way of scaring the ever loving shit outta me. when faye dunnaway's daughter is taken from that car at the end, i was just as scared as when rosemary realizes everyone was working against her. he literally can make me feel sick to my stomach with fear, which is a rare thing. a very well done movie and jack nicholson reminded me of pants :p

i love you man

or at least, i think that's what it was. the paul rudd bromance where he needs a best man. this was just awful. there were a few funny one-liners, but mainly it was a whole lot of that whole "awkward white guy trying to use trendy catch phrases" thing like in the office. not funny.

caddyshack

this was funny. perhaps i don't find it quite as funny as most guys who saw this when it came out, but it was funny. definitely a different era in how people behaved (that mannish girl just LETTING the guy she's screwing fuck that blonde chick) and chevy chase was probably my favourite.

a touch of evil

i really liked this even though i couldn't stop thinking of the man who knew too much. the american police chief that gets killed & the gypsy were great, i just don't get why heston played a mexican. and if i was janet leigh's character, i would have slapped that man silly and left him for good, i mean WTF?!?! "hi honey, just stay at this scary hotel in the middle of nowhere by yourself after some strange man had been following you". fuck.that.shit.

[humanoid]

I laughed pretty hard at several individual scenes in I Love You Man, but overall it fell flat....most comedies end up this way for me, usually disappointing

[MissingPerson]

It appears I was onto something when I said it was a Ginger Snaps ripoff. (http://tinyurl.com/n9f7qf)

Finest use of that site to date, if I may say so.

[humanoid]

So it looks like I have a meeting with some financiers in NY lined up for my return to the East in November. The delightful catch? They're Russians who work in waste management.

I wish you the best of luck, in more ways than one.

[sbessiso]

I am so fucking excited for "Zombieland". Still have to see "Jennifer's Body". Go horror comedy go!

[BlackSwan]

I watched Duplicity last weekend and found it to be very enjoyable. Good performances with relatively clever dialouge and plot. I figured it out halfway thorugh, but it still entertained me till the end.

[RotationSlimWang]

I wish you the best of luck, in more ways than one.

Frankly it seems like the only fitting way for this all to come to fruition. Especially because it'll make the secret behind-the-scenes documentary in which I privately reveal how I'm hiding from my investors the fact that I'll be on all the drugs my character is supposed to be in each scene I'm playing him, while directing too. It'll be great.

[M Sparks]

Finest use of that site to date, if I may say so.

I didn't even think of this. Brigitte from Ginger Snaps had a small part in Juno. I think it's the only other movie I've ever seen her in.

SO ripped off, at least in tone if not details.

[Blinken]

Yeah, that does seem fitting. Congrats and don't end up in the Hudson.

[humanoid]

Frankly it seems like the only fitting way for this all to come to fruition. Especially because it'll make the secret behind-the-scenes documentary in which I privately reveal how I'm hiding from my investors the fact that I'll be on all the drugs my character is supposed to be in each scene I'm playing him, while directing too. It'll be great.

sounds perfect, I'll look forward to the documentary as well

[humanoid]

Yeah, that does seem fitting. Congrats and don't end up in the Hudson.

more likely the East River

nevermind, forgot he'll be in Jersey

[M Sparks]

caddyshack

... (that mannish girl just LETTING the guy she's screwing fuck that blonde chick)

I assume you mean the "Irish" girl? Maggie? I never knew this until recently...she is the same actress who played the mayor's daughter in Animal House (the one with the stuffed bra).

She just VANISHED after Caddyshack...supposedly had mental issues or a drug problem or both. A few years back someone made a movie based on her life. Can't remember the name, but if you look her up on IMDB, it mentions it somewhere.

[nicolemxo]

So now that my Netflix queue is full with all of your wonderful recommendations, I've decided to alternate between classic film and mindless entertainment to avoid getting burnt out on old movies, which happened when I overloaded my queue with various classics 5 years ago.

Which tonight led me to Adventureland, which to say the least, was misleading if you saw the advertisements for it. The movie in itself never really decided what it wanted to be...it started out part American Pie (which I went into it thinking it was going to be), then seemed to go in an Almost Famous kind of direction, but settling for a poor rendition of Fast Times at Ridgemont High ultimately.

I mean, you only watch a movie like that to be entertained and nothing more right? Well it started off strangely well announcing that the score was done by Yo La Tengo, and with the VU's "Here She Comes Now" leading the way through the opening credits. And the whole movie seemed like it wanted to be credible musically..."Satellite of Love" was more than merely mentioned in the flick, and "Pale Blue Eyes" made 2 different appearances throughout the course of the movie.

It's just hard to take something seriously that plays some of the Velvets/Lou Reed's best material, but then minutes later sandwiches it between Whitesnake and Crowded House.

It just didn't work.

I completely agree with you on this. There were a few (and only a few) funny bits so thank goodness I only saw it in a budget theater for three bucks.

[MissingPerson]

I didn't even think of this. Brigitte from Ginger Snaps had a small part in Juno. I think it's the only other movie I've ever seen her in.

SO ripped off, at least in tone if not details.



She was in an episode of the X Files once too, way back when. Got her eyes burned out.

I presume she was probably in Stargate at some point too. It's the law up there. It's a real shame too, I loved Ginger Snaps and she really made it, I thought.

[M Sparks]

I completely agree with you on this. There were a few (and only a few) funny bits so thank goodness I only saw it in a budget theater for three bucks.

I agree that it wasn't particularly funny or interesting, but he's just wrong about the soundtrack...and therefore so are you. :)

[RotationSlimWang]

definitely a different era in how people behaved (that mannish girl just LETTING the guy she's screwing fuck that blonde chick)

The one thing about this that you didn't picked up on is that while you're accurate about it being a different era, you missed a key piece of info. When Maggie tells Danny she's late and Danny assumes it's his baby and offers to marry her, she tells him she doesn't even know it's his. It's actually a pretty hilarious moment (when you've watched the movie as much as I have and pick up on all the nuances) when Danny gets smacked with this piece of info and tries to recover by saying that he still wants to marry her.

Point being, their relationship was pretty far from exclusive.

[chairmenmeow47]

i remembered that, but they still acted like they were in a relationship, so that one line didn't negate all the relationship behavior

[RotationSlimWang]

I dunno, hon. I think you're undervaluing the atmosphere of sexual revolution-era teenagedom.

[chairmenmeow47]

perhaps, but she still cared though when she told him not to sleep with her in the first place because she was a whore. claiming territory in girlspeak, as it were.

[SoulDischarge]

Frankly it seems like the only fitting way for this all to come to fruition. Especially because it'll make the secret behind-the-scenes documentary in which I privately reveal how I'm hiding from my investors the fact that I'll be on all the drugs my character is supposed to be in each scene I'm playing him, while directing too. It'll be great.

Overnight 2.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

CADDYSHACK isone of the greatest films of all time. I do wonder about people seeing it for the first time now though...totally out of context in terms of time, and the fact that its been ripped off a billion times over by every comedy in the last 30 years.

I've seen it probably 200 times and it still never fails to make me piss my pants. Rodney Dangerfield>God

[TallGuyCM]

Watched Withnail and I tonight, after reading that Drinkey enjoyed it a few weeks ago I put it on my list. What a fucking bizarre movie. Like most movies I went into it without having read up at all, which I think gives me a more natural reaction to it as opposed to reading reviews and what not where I'm being told what to think about it or how to view it.

It was very funny at times, the dreary British outlook on life has never been presented better than during certain parts of the film. The scene where they're drunk in the cafe is great. And the guy who plays their drug buddy was in Wayne's World 2...the promoter who they fly to London to pitch their idea to, that cracked me up. I haven't seen him in anything else besides that.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

hahaha yeah i was so preoccupied with the fact that that guy was in WW2 while watching that. I kept thinking about that scene with him describing his Ozzy story.

I'm still digesting Withnail & i. Gotta watch it again in a couple months

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

hahaha yeah i was so preoccupied with the fact that that guy was in WW2 while watching that. I kept thinking about that scene with him describing his Ozzy story.

I'm still digesting Withnail & i. Gotta watch it again in a couple months

[TallGuyCM]

Watched Withnail and I tonight, after reading that Drinkey enjoyed it a few weeks ago I put it on my list. What a fucking bizarre movie. Like most movies I went into it without having read up at all, which I think gives me a more natural reaction to it as opposed to reading reviews and what not where I'm being told what to think about it or how to view it.

It was very funny at times, the dreary British outlook on life has never been presented better than during certain parts of the film. The scene where they're drunk in the cafe is great. And the guy who plays their drug buddy was in Wayne's World 2...the promoter who they fly to London to pitch their idea to, that cracked me up. I haven't seen him in anything else besides that.

[SoulDischarge]

"We want the finest wines available to humanity. And we want them here, and we want them now!" is a great non-sequiter to throw out at random.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

what the fuck is happening here

****not in response to SD

[SoulDischarge]

Board's fucked up.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

Board's fucked up.

RAWR

[TallGuyCM]

Yeah I definitely didn't double-post 6 minutes apart!

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

Yeah I definitely didn't double-post 6 minutes apart!

especially AFTER my double post response to the first of your double posts

[TallGuyCM]

Finally got my ass to the theater tonight to see Inglourious Basterds. I've been making a point to not read any of your guys' reviews and thoughts of the movie, although I did see what's his fuck point out that Hitler dies. Good flick though, the scene that stood out the most to me was the conversation between Col. Landa and Shosanna over the strudles...the intensity was incredible, when he ordered her the milk I (as one was supposed to) completely thought that he was onto her and she was a gonner.

There were only about 10 or so people in the theatre, but the scene where Pitt's character was spitting out the Italian in the Southern accent made everyone crack up to the point that it sounded like a big crowd.

I'll have to let it soak in to really gauge how it ranks with QT's others...I've seen lots of people say it's his worst while still being better than most other films out there...I dunno, it's hard to say.

What I found interesting about this film in comparison to Tarentino's other flicks is that in this one I was actually rooting for one of the characters (Shosanna), almost to the point of emotional investment in the character's outcome. I can't recall this happening before.

[SoulDischarge]

It takes a big man to admit to not rooting for Pam Grier.

[TallGuyCM]

Ha yeah I guess, hard to compare the two though.

[schoolofruckus]

If you weren't rooting for Bruce Willis to slice a hillbilly's dick off, you have no soul.

[higgybaby23]

If you weren't rooting for Bruce Willis to slice a hillbilly's dick off, you have no soul.

:rotfl

[Mr.Nipples]

cronenberg is remaking the fly? huh

[iv3rdawG]

Fantastic Mr. Fox is opening AFI Fest:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118009114.html?categoryId=2825&cs=1

[wmgaretjax]

cronenberg is remaking the fly? huh

that guy never ceases to surprise.

[schoolofruckus]

I saw Roy Andersson's You, the Living last night. It's very similar to Songs From the Second Floor, but I liked it a lot more. Where the other film's absurdist, eerily deadpan vignettes never added up to anything greater than the sum of their amusing parts, You, the Living is infused with an almost immediate sense of thematic purpose. Using the same visual aesthetic (most scenes are static medium shots with a strong sense of fantastical malice), the film is a bleak - yet always comical - portrait of the vast sense of nothingness humans feel in their lives. One of my favorite movies of 2009 so far.

[wmgaretjax]

So... I had the opposite response... Although I did like the film a lot. I felt that You, the Living was a little too theatrical... Especially in it's last act. I felt that the deadpan nature of his last film dug a little deeper in contrast to the more overtly tongue in cheek segments of this film. However, it was definitely more laugh out loud than Songs...

Have you seen his short "World of Glory?" I think it might be on youtube.

[schoolofruckus]

I can see that. It's definitely less subtle than Second Floor. More than anything, I had a much stronger visceral reaction to You, the Living, which I think helped my intellectual understanding of it.

And I haven't seen the short.

[nicolemxo]

cronenberg is remaking the fly? huh

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

[sbessiso]

cronenberg is remaking the fly? huh

I just don't understand it

[paulb]

I saw Capitalism: A Love Story today at the Arclight.... decent, a little slow though, very very political, not as entertaining as Bowling For Columbine, some great points were made though.

[Young blood]

Dear Mr Nipples,
tIpD1kXDpWI

[Mr.Nipples]

fubar is so fucking great...


im pretty sure dean ended up getting a part in episode 3

[chairmenmeow47]

what should my dad & i see this weekend that isn't an LA only type of movie? is 9 any good? the informant? pandorum or whatever?

[TallGuyCM]

There's not a whole lot at the theatres, I was gonna see the Informant yesterday but got there a little late and so I went and saw Final Destination and they didn't even give me the fucking 3D glasses because they were only showing that Meatballs kids movie in 3D.

[Hannahrain]

I watched The Bridge last night. I enjoyed it, but I feel like everyone who talked about the "romance" of jumping off the bridge as one of the key factors in someone's decision to jump (instead of taking pills or something less violent, though the matter of certainty and accessibility did come up as well) was missing something. In my mind, it's less about romance and notoriety and more about making your death into one last completely unreal experience. It's a way to make sure you experience your death along with everyone else.

It seemed like a negligent omission, and I think if it had been discussed there might be a little more to it. I suppose, though, since all the dialogue and interview segments are from people whose family members have jumped, people who saw someone jump, and a guy who jumped and lived, that it might have been easier for them to believe that once you tip yourself forward and leave the railing, you black out and your experience ends. But regardless, I feel like it's something that should have been touched on. The situational comprehension of a few of the more accepting interviewees makes me wonder why it didn't occur to them.

Overall, it wasn't a bad documentary. I appreciated the way it was made entirely to focus on the jumpers, the bridge, and the people who are affected with a completely invisible filmmaker. It made it feel much less like the filmmaker's movie and much more like the subjects' movie.

[AlecEiffel]

The Informant was pretty funny. Felt a lot longer than it was, but not in a bad way. I'd definitely recommend it.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

what should my dad & i see this weekend that isn't an LA only type of movie? is 9 any good? the informant? pandorum or whatever?

9 is a lot of fun - pretty much just an action spectacle filled with scary robots. The Informant is definitely on my list, I'll have to see if i can make it out to it before it hits DVD.

[stinkbutt]

9 sucked

Informant was pretty good not as funny as I was hoping for but still good

[amyzzz]

There's not a whole lot at the theatres, I was gonna see the Informant yesterday but got there a little late and so I went and saw Final Destination and they didn't even give me the fucking 3D glasses because they were only showing that Meatballs kids movie in 3D.
Oh I didn't know Meatballs movie was out yet. Gotta take the kids.

[stinkbutt]

Dear Mr Nipples,
tIpD1kXDpWI

"TURN UP THE GOOD, TURN DOWN THE SUCK"

[bobert]

I'm getting really sick of not knowing when Enter the Void and The Tree of Life are being released.

Can't wait for Enter the Void. Just watched I Stand Alone a couple months back - always end up feeling really defiled after I watch one of Noe's movies, but his visual genius always seems to outweigh his repulsive obsessions. In any case, I think even his haters would admit that there's not really any filmmaker quite like him.

[schoolofruckus]

Can't wait for Enter the Void. Just watched I Stand Alone a couple months back - always end up feeling really defiled after I watch one of Noe's movies, but his visual genius always seems to outweigh his repulsive obsessions. In any case, I think even his haters would admit that there's not really any filmmaker quite like him.

I think I Stand Alone is more fucked up than Irreversible because it had the exact same effect on me - the only different being that I saw the latter on a 70 mm screen in the 8th row, and I saw the former on a 13" TV in broad daylight.

[wmgaretjax]

a love his films. but his short for Destricted was fucking awful.

[nicolemxo]

9 sucked

Informant was pretty good not as funny as I was hoping for but still good

Totally agree on The Informant. Some of the random inner monologue was good but I definitely thought it was going to be funnier.

[Down Rodeo]

Felt a lot longer than it was, but not in a bad way.

That's what she said.

[whynotsmile99]

Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009)
Rating: PG
Rating Reason: Rated PG for some suggestive choreography and scary images.

[iv3rdawG]

First picture from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's new movie, Paul, directed by Greg Mottola (Superbad):

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/5339/paulfirstimagesimonpegg.jpg

Two British comic book geeks (Pegg and Frost) go on a road trip through America. On the way, they discover an alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) at Area 51.

The blog is hilarious too:

Dl1JSLekchg

-JrGN7K89ug

sJUMKIyKkyE

http://www.whatispaul.com

[paulb]

Saw Cloudy with a chance of meatballs today....fuckin EXCELLENT movie! 9/10!!

[M Sparks]

fubar is so fucking great...

Yeah, but you kind of need to be prepared that it's going to take a major turn. Just about the time I was feeling in the spirit of it, it got depressing.

[stinkbutt]

Yeah, but you kind of need to be prepared that it's going to take a major turn. Just about the time I was feeling in the spirit of it, it got depressing.

Then it comes full circle and is hillarious again

[wmgaretjax]

Polanski might be extradited from Switzerland. He's been taken into custody.

[Mr.Nipples]

oh shi---

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

Saw Cloudy with a chance of meatballs today....fuckin EXCELLENT movie! 9/10!!


I agree! It is immensely funny and just plain fun throughout the entire flick. The action sequence climax got a little long for my taste, but overall it was a shockingly funny, quirky movie

[chairmenmeow47]

we ended up seeing surrogates; always hard to find movies starting around 2.

i actually liked it though. it wasn't brilliant or anything, but i didn't go in with any expectations. i kinda felt like i'd seen the movie before, but it was entertaining. i liked the surrogate botoxesque clinique where bruce's wife worked. the end was kinda cool when all the surrogates just stop working.

[RotationSlimWang]

Star Trek fucking sucked. It wasn't even remotely a Star Trek movie. Might as well have been made by Michael Bay.

[amyzzz]

Thx for Cloudy recommendations. I'll try to see that. :thu

[SoulDischarge]

Fubar has been lingering towards the end of my queue for at least a year now and that trailer has convinced me to move it to the top.

[ivankay]

Werner Herzog will be at a screening of Fitzcarraldo to talk about it on Sunday, October 11th at the Aero. (http://www.americancinematheque.com/archive1999/2009/Aero/OneNightEvents_Oct_Aero_2009.htm#FITZCARRALDO)

[wmgaretjax]

badass.

[sbessiso]

meh. Visually it looks ok and im a little curious to see Jackie Earle Haley's performance but the original is one of my favorite horror movies. I remember the first time I saw it, I was fucking terrified

yB8XYZDu5zs

[schoolofruckus]

Werner Herzog will be at a screening of Fitzcarraldo to talk about it on Sunday, October 11th at the Aero. (http://www.americancinematheque.com/archive1999/2009/Aero/OneNightEvents_Oct_Aero_2009.htm#FITZCARRALDO)

I'm going to this.

[AlecEiffel]

I'm sure Jackie Haley will probably be great, but making a Nightmare on Elm Street movie without Robert Englund is a terrible idea. It'd be like a remake of Evil Dead with someone who isn't Bruce Campbell playing Ash. Robert Englund's performance is probably the main reason that Freddy is such an iconic character and he is still more than capable of playing him. I just wish they had kept him on but made a film that was a little more serious in tone than most of the other sequels. I wouldn't even mind a complete reboot as long as he was in it. If I were him I'd take this as a serious, serious slap in the face.

[humanoid]

and the last thing you'd ever want to do is slap Freddy Kruger in the face

[AlecEiffel]

unless you had managed to pull him out of the dream world first.

[M Sparks]

and the last thing you'd ever want to do is slap Freddy Kruger in the face
unless you had managed to pull him out of the dream world first.

I used to be a fairly lucent dreamer...once I had a Freddy Kruger dream that started as a nightmare. But he didn't seem to have any crazy powers over me...just a freaky guy with knife hands.

My dream self thinks "Oh yeah...I can just hit him with a chair." Picked up a dining room chair and started chasing him around until I woke up.