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Monday, July 26, 2010

Smith: O’s baseball or “Inception:” which is worse?

From Postlethwaite to post season wait…it just never ends.

So Saturday, it was 100 degrees in Baltimore for, like, the millionth straight day.

Remember Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing? It was that kind of day. Hot in the early morning, hot as firey hades at midday and set-your-oven-to-clean hot by the evening. The city stank and a dusty orange haze hung over Oriole Park. First pitch, 7:05 pm against the Twins.

I didn’t go. Nor did I watch. I couldn’t bear another loss under the broiler. Instead, my wife and I went to the movies.

...If you ask me, which you didn’t, the movie reeked. Way too clever for its own good. Plus, all the actors looked like they were 13. It was like watching the Roosevelt Jr. High School adaptation of Inception. Lots of fakey blow-up stuff. Lots of freaky dreamy stuff. Smitty says: nope.

And downtown, 22,299 people paid to see the Twins beat the O’s 7-2 to fall 30 & 1/2 games behind the Yankees. Baltimore starter Brian Matusz fell to 3 and 11 on the year. Another disaster for the worst – by far – team in baseball.

Who had more fun? Me at at an insufferable movie in a busted seat? Or O’s fans?

Repoz Posted: July 26, 2010 at 12:06 PM | 1582 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
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   1101. Bob Dernier Cri Posted: July 30, 2010 at 01:58 PM (#3603520)
Fonda (too goody two shoes)

Just to second Morty's comments, I wouldn't call even some of Henry Fonda's more virtuous heroes "goody two-shoes." As Young Mr Lincoln, he has a real edge in the courtroom scenes. There's nothing sentimental about Tom Joad or the twelfth angry man. In My Darling Clementine, Wyatt Earp is as always the good guy, but Fonda played him with a nothing-left-to-lose hunger.

And (literally) finally, On Golden Pond can induce massive insulin shock, but if there were a way to follow Henry Fonda in that picture without having to take in most of the context, it would repay study. He's bitter and mean and remorseless and eaten-up and you have this awful feeling that he was just hobbling onto the set most days and living his life. Though that's the beauty of acting: you call on what you've lived through to create a believable character.
   1102. chisoxcollector Posted: July 30, 2010 at 02:02 PM (#3603525)
I've never really connected with a Coen Brothers movie. Don't get me wrong, they've all been good. Something just seems to be missing for me, and I can't pinpoint what it is. My favorite is probably Fargo. I thought Big Lebowski had some great moments, but overall was just okay. No Country For Old Men was good, Miller's Crossing was good... but neither is something I could consider a favorite.

I haven't seen Barton Fink, so maybe I'll watch that tonight.
   1103. Quiet Flows the Don Taussig Avenger (Edmundo) Posted: July 30, 2010 at 02:18 PM (#3603538)
It's been hard to keep up with this thread, but with all this Coen talk, no love for "The Man Who Wasn't There?" I thought it worked very well as a noir movie.
   1104. Jolly Old St. Neck Wound, Moral Idiot Posted: July 30, 2010 at 02:22 PM (#3603543)
Just to second Morty's comments, I wouldn't call even some of Henry Fonda's more virtuous heroes "goody two-shoes." As Young Mr Lincoln, he has a real edge in the courtroom scenes. There's nothing sentimental about Tom Joad or the twelfth angry man. In My Darling Clementine, Wyatt Earp is as always the good guy, but Fonda played him with a nothing-left-to-lose hunger.

I do agree that Fonda's very good in 12 Angry Men, which also has lot of other first rate performances. The Grapes of Wrath is one of those classic Hollywood political ventures where its heart is in the right place, but the overall saintly virtue (and language) imputed to "the people" starts to approach parody after the first reel or two. And you know which side of that issue I'm on, so it's not a matter of the political slant per se I'm objecting to. It's just the overall didactic and sentimental take that grinds me down.

The others you mention are either biopix or westerns, and while I'm not doubting your take on Fonda's performances in them, any biopic from that era is impossible for me to watch, and the westerns are at the end of a pretty long line.

EDIT: When I think about it, the biopics I'm knocking are those of heroes and good guys, not the ones of villains. Lawrence Tierney's Dillinger is a lot of fun, and Warren William's The Match King, based on the life of the Swedish match titan Ivar Krerger, is one of my favorite movies ever. No sloppy sentimentalism in that one!
   1105. dingo powered war machine (CoB) Posted: July 30, 2010 at 02:32 PM (#3603556)
Westerns are barely above costume dramas and 40's biopix in terms of my least favorite genres (I like my gunslingers to be wearing fedoras), but you and Morty aren't the first ones to recommend Once Upon a Time in the West, and I'll definitely look for it.


Allow me to add *another* recommendation for OUaTitW. It's my favorite western, a toss-up (with Unforgiven) for the best western ever and Leone's best as well. It's got a tremendous score from Morricone, a sparse but genuinely witty script, a gorgeous Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda AND Jason Robards AND Charles Bronson all giving fantastic performances, one of the greatest title sequences ever shot AND a scene that might just be the greatest introduction of a character ever.

It's also Fonda's favorite role ever, for reasons that should become apparent as you watch it.

AND RayRay hates it, so it's got that going for it, which is nice ...
   1106. David Nieporent (now, with children) Posted: July 30, 2010 at 02:34 PM (#3603560)
AND RayRay hates it, so it's got that going for it, which is nice ...
Isn't that kind of like Mikey? He hates everything.
   1107. Davo the Magnificent Posted: July 30, 2010 at 03:12 PM (#3603623)
Allow me to add *another* recommendation for OUaTitW. It's my favorite western, a toss-up (with Unforgiven) for the best western ever and Leone's best as well. (...)AND RayRay hates it, so it's got that going for it, which is nice ...
On the other hand (perhaps), it's an all-time top 5 (in any genre) for me.

Modern audiences would almost certainly hate it, what with its archetypal characters, broad yet intensely familiar/personal conflicts, and honest portrayal of real human emotions and all that. Blech! Give me some of that Gus Van Sant/David Fincher nihilism!
   1108. dingo powered war machine (CoB) Posted: July 30, 2010 at 03:24 PM (#3603641)
Isn't that kind of like Mikey? He hates everything.


He doesn't fear movies, but he does deny them his essence ...
   1109. Lassus: Posted: July 30, 2010 at 03:34 PM (#3603656)
This is the most insane thing I've ever read. Duck Soup is about as "one note" as a Bach fugue.

POW!

Well-said.
   1110. Bob Dernier Cri Posted: July 30, 2010 at 03:46 PM (#3603671)
Isn't that kind of like Mikey? He hates everything

An ad campaign I never understood. Mikey won't touch normal delicious cereal like Frosted Flakes or Sugar Pops or Cocoa Krispies. So we're supposed to trust his judgment about Life? I don't think so.
   1111. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: July 30, 2010 at 03:51 PM (#3603681)
David Fincher nihilism


David Fincher isn't a nihilist.
   1112. Davo the Magnificent Posted: July 30, 2010 at 03:54 PM (#3603690)
David Fincher isn't a nihilist.
David Fincher cynicism? David Fincher overwhelming desperation? David Fincher meaninglessness of existence and pointlessness of effort? David Fincher amorality?

All accurate, but which one are you looking for?
   1113. Lassus: Posted: July 30, 2010 at 04:02 PM (#3603706)
An ad campaign I never understood. Mikey won't touch normal delicious cereal like Frosted Flakes or Sugar Pops or Cocoa Krispies. So we're supposed to trust his judgment about Life? I don't think so.

Even my mom knew that crap was like cardboard.
   1114. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: July 30, 2010 at 04:06 PM (#3603717)
Yeah, because films like Panic Room and Zodiac are all about amorality and the pointlessness of effort.
   1115. Morty Causa Posted: July 30, 2010 at 04:24 PM (#3603744)
Somebody said The Big Lebowski was a homage to Chandler. I think it's more, in tone and attiude, like this:

I was sitting at the bar in Miranda’s having a bourbon and water when this wild-looking tomato came in, looked around until she spotted me, then marched straight over and slid onto the stool on my right.
“Hello, honey,” she said, smiling like a gal saying thanks for a brand-new mink.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“Thirty years, I think.”
She had those arched brows and slanted eyes that make you think of black cats slinking through scented darkness, getting ready to pounce on little animals and eat them. She was wearing a brief green cocktail dress that looked like a large strapless fig leaf, with a wide V at the top cut clear down to hoo-boy, exposing what must have been God’s gift to brassieres, but not any brassiere, at least not as far as I could see, which as far enough. Her hair was black and thick and lustrous, and her lips had that just-chewed look, and she had a pair of eyes that could burn holes in a wet blanket.
I’d never seen her before.


Shell Scott

A 1966 story, Prather's Shell Scott series goes back to 1950. Very popular in the '50's to mid-sixties (second to Spillane). Highly recommended.

Put me down for "Miller's Crossing".

Me, too.
   1116. Davo the Magnificent Posted: July 30, 2010 at 04:34 PM (#3603762)
Yeah, because films like (...) Zodiac are all about amorality and the pointlessness of effort.
YES YES YES 1000 TIMES YES!!!!!!!!

I think the story of a serial killer who never gets caught is a story about amorality. I think the story of how the good men slowly destroy their lives while attempting to bring him to justice is a story of the pointlessness of effort.

Look at the way Fincher shoots them. Zodiac is always in the center of the frame, in wide open spaces, with a low camera angle (ie he's tall, powerful, heroic). It's been a while (I can no longer remember character names), but think of the scene where he binds and stabs the young married couple on the beach (at a picnic--the woman dies but the man survives). They're on the ground, he's standing up. The male victim is coded as weak and ineffectual (he's thin, bespectacled, with blond hair and a high-pitched voice).

And then there's Graysmith (Gyllenhaal), the purported hero. He's always tightly shot (in his cramped apartment or cramped desk). No freedom, no strength...no heroism (he's a teetotaler, and there's a scene with him in the bar with Downey where he orders some "girly" drink). My God, they even make his love interest dowdy, and she's played by Chloe Sevigny!

I mean, what goes through your head when you're watching a movie like that? Do you really think, "Ah, that Fincher, he has a wonderful outlook on life, I'd like to see more of it." ? No! His films are disgusting! They have no emotion, no feeling. You* can't relate to anything that anyone does, at any moment, ever.

* Unless you're a cynic who despises life, in which case, you'd be having a field day.
   1117. Swoboda is freedom Posted: July 30, 2010 at 04:40 PM (#3603779)
Put me down for "Miller's Crossing".

Me, too.


Ditto me. I caught myself watching it the other night until 1 am. For about the 1000 time. I was dragging the next morning but it really was great. I liked it but didn't love it in the theatre but it really grew on me. Same with Hudsucker, thought it was below average when I saw it but really liked it when I saw it on TV.

Back to Michael Bay. I hate, hate, hate his movies. I love summer fun movies, but I find his awful. The plots are so full of holes that I can't suspend my sense of disbelief. The action scenes are badly shot and jumpy. His movie have no humor either.
   1118. Morty Causa Posted: July 30, 2010 at 04:46 PM (#3603791)
Miller's Crossing has plot, character, theme, great dialogue and plenty of attitude, and it's perfectly shot and scored. It's formalistic, yet absurdly coherent. Too coherent almost but for good effect and in the spirit of the thing. It may be their best, I think.
   1119. Swoboda is freedom Posted: July 30, 2010 at 04:56 PM (#3603804)
Miller's Crossing has plot, character, theme, great dialogue and plenty of attitude, and it's perfectly shot and scored. It's formalistic, yet absurdly coherent. Too coherent but for good effect. It may be their best, I think

Great cast too. Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, Marcia Gay Harden, Jon Polito John Turturro are all great (especially Polito) and a lot of great character actors.
   1120. Avoid running at all times.-S. Paige Posted: July 30, 2010 at 05:17 PM (#3603837)
Somebody said The Big Lebowski was a homage to Chandler.


I think the Coen Bros have said that The Big Lebowski is a parody of Chandler (albeit a loving one), and that Miller's Crossing was influenced by Hammett's work, and Blood Simple was their version of a Cain story. The Man Who Wasn't There also feels like a Cain story. In any case, they are clearly huge fans of these authors. Morty, they probably were fans of Shell Scott as well. It would be cool to see what they have to say about the series.

And put me down for Miller's Crossing as well. What stands out to me is the language--so sharp and musical. The actors do a tremendous job with it. The woods assasination scene also references one of the best movies ever, The Conformist.
   1121. Benji Gil Gamesh is not being paid to be that guy Posted: July 30, 2010 at 05:20 PM (#3603841)
I mean, what goes through your head when you're watching a movie like that? Do you really think, "Ah, that Fincher, he has a wonderful outlook on life, I'd like to see more of it." ? No! His films are disgusting!


So in other words...that's what goes through *your* head, and you don't like that Fincher put it there, ergo he's no good?

I think your premise of his outlook on life is very debatable to say the least, but even granting that it were 100% correct, not liking someone's dark outlook and how it permeates his films is grounds for not personally liking his films, not for declaring them "disgusting" and implying that they are no good.

They have no emotion, no feeling. You* can't relate to anything that anyone does, at any moment, ever. *Unless you're a cynic who despises life, in which case, you'd be having a field day.


Overstate much?
   1122. Morty Causa Posted: July 30, 2010 at 05:25 PM (#3603850)
Great cast too. Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, Marcia Gay Harden, Jon Polito John Turturro are all great (especially Polito) and a lot of great character actors.


All of 'em--superb. why Byrne didn't become a superstar after that movie is beyond me. Maybe he was too in character.
   1123. Morty Causa Posted: July 30, 2010 at 05:29 PM (#3603858)
What stands out to me is the language--so sharp and musical.


Well-crafted doesn't begin to do justice to the dialogue. It's chiselled and honed to perfection--you have to go back to things like The Big Sleep, Double Indemnity, and Out of the Past to find its equal. The added fillip are the neologisms. They are so right for the movie.
   1124. Davo the Magnificent Posted: July 30, 2010 at 05:30 PM (#3603861)
David Fincher is a really talented guy (he proved this with Alien 3), and I'd hate to see him waste that talent making these cynical, unfeeling movies--leave those for the Noah Baumbachs of the world!
   1125. Avoid running at all times.-S. Paige Posted: July 30, 2010 at 05:30 PM (#3603862)
davoarid's opinions actually remind me exactly of Armond White's. I'm not even saying that to be antagonistic, as I find White an interesting critic and much less offensive than other, more respected critics. White is not a favorite here and there are good reasons for that. He is often a parody of himself. That said, he does have these strong opinions about certain directors. He hates Fincher, likes Bay for the most part. He loves Speilberg. He loves DePalma. He hates Tarantino. He despises cynicism and any hint of nihilism in his films. So far, he and davoarid seem to share the same world view.

Edit: Oh, almost forgot, he has a now famous hatred for Baumbach and Baumbach's mom.
   1126. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader Posted: July 30, 2010 at 05:45 PM (#3603888)
I finally got around to seeing The Seventh Seal last night. I was afraid it was going to be one of those boring, good-for-you movies, but it's good stuff.

Michael Bay is ####### terrible. Advocating for his work is just an exercise in contrarianism. He hasn't even made a movie as good as The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. (That's a good popcorn flick for ya, and I don't even like the rest of the movies in the franchise. Maybe it's the lack of overt Vin Diesel homoeroticism.)
   1127. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader Posted: July 30, 2010 at 05:49 PM (#3603893)
It's been hard to keep up with this thread, but with all this Coen talk, no love for "The Man Who Wasn't There?" I thought it worked very well as a noir movie.

We're in the minority, but I think that's an excellent movie. It's also just beautifully filmed.
   1128. Lassus: Posted: July 30, 2010 at 05:58 PM (#3603908)
Edit: Oh, almost forgot, he has a now famous hatred for Baumbach

This makes me sad, because White is a cancerous boil I can't fathom agreeing with, but I knew Baumbach in college and he's definitely hateable.
   1129. Gaelan Posted: July 30, 2010 at 06:04 PM (#3603915)
I saw Inception last night and liked it. I loved the Prestige but hated Dark Knight. Raymond Chandler was a great artist. His books cna be read and reread without losing anything. Beautiful writing combined with a pitch perfect portrait of a noble man in a corrupt age.

Way back when some people mentioned liking Children of Men. These people are wrong. It is a ####### disgrace.
   1130. Lassus: Posted: July 30, 2010 at 06:07 PM (#3603922)
Way back when some people mentioned liking Children of Men. These people are wrong. It is a ####### disgrace.

I was actually surprised it took you this long, Gaelan, as I remembered your opinion on this from another thread.
   1131. Benji Gil Gamesh is not being paid to be that guy Posted: July 30, 2010 at 06:11 PM (#3603929)
I saw Inception last night and liked it. I loved the Prestige but hated Dark Knight.


Wow, I mostly agree with a Gaelan post on movie opinions! (I liked Dark Knight overall, really disliked the last 30-40 minutes.)
   1132. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader Posted: July 30, 2010 at 06:14 PM (#3603938)
I think the Dark Knight does the best it can with the material. The problem with superhero movies is they're inherently lame. Even the very best ones are just kind of meh.
   1133. chisoxcollector Posted: July 30, 2010 at 06:20 PM (#3603942)
Children of Men is fantastic. I can't understand why Clive Owen isn't a superstar.
   1134. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: July 30, 2010 at 07:31 PM (#3604051)
I think the story of a serial killer who never gets caught is a story about amorality. I think the story of how the good men slowly destroy their lives while attempting to bring him to justice is a story of the pointlessness of effort.


And this, right here, is where you get it backwards. Why are those good men destroying their lives in an attempt to bring the Zodiac to justice? Why are they sacrificing their marriages and their jobs and their reputations? Because they believe that the lives of the Zodiac's victims had worth and meaning, and their work signifies their respect for the lost potential of those silent dead. Even when they want to give up and lay down the burden (as in the porch scene with Graysmith and Toschi), they can't do it, because they believe too deeply in these things.

And that's the way it works with almost all of Fincher's movies. The protagonist is buffeted by the winds of fortune, and he considers giving in to despair, and then he rises up in the third act and actively rejects the nihilistic worldview. The narrator in Fight Club denounces Tyler Durden, abandons and attempts to dissolve Project Mayhem, and eventually "kills" Tyler rather than be subsumed into him. Jodie Foster's character in Panic Room saves herself and her daughter by fighting back and being tough and brave, while Forrest Whitaker's character listens to the better angels of his nature and returns to help them, even though it costs him the bonds and his freedom. Benjamin Button accepts the limitations imposed by his condition and lives the best and fullest life possible under the circumstances.

But I guess none of that matters because Chloe Sevigny dressed up in dowdy clothes and makeup in an effort to look like the actual, real person that she was portraying. So Fincher must believe in nothing.
   1135. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: July 30, 2010 at 07:33 PM (#3604058)
liked Dark Knight overall, really disliked the last 30-40 minutes.


It's a good movie. The problem comes from all the people trying to turn it into a an exemplar of cultural trends and beliefs and all that stupid ########. It's just a movie!
   1136. dingo powered war machine (CoB) Posted: July 30, 2010 at 08:19 PM (#3604108)
The problem comes from all the people trying to turn it into a an exemplar of cultural trends and beliefs and all that stupid ########.


Ah.

And here I thought I didn't like it because it was 45 minutes too long, dragged whenever the Joker wasn't on screen, featured sloppy, lazy screenwriting, murky, choppy action sequences, contained the stultifying presence of a Katie Holmes-like substance and apparently captured Christian Bale perpetually wracked by the world's most agonizingly prolonged bout of constipation ...
   1137. Davo the Magnificent Posted: July 30, 2010 at 08:23 PM (#3604113)
Why are those good men destroying their lives in an attempt to bring the Zodiac to justice? Why are they sacrificing their marriages and their jobs and their reputations? Because they believe that the lives of the Zodiac's victims had worth and meaning, and their work signifies their respect for the lost potential of those silent dead.
First, I thank you for taking the time to comment.

That said--

I have two huge problems I have with that analysis:

1) Fincher fetishizes the puzzle aspect of this case. It's completely unambiguous that this is what attracts Graysmith to the murders. If memory serves correct, at one point we see a small scene from the perspective of the random older, married teacher couple who cracks the code. The fact that he features them in a scene, and shows the events of that scene from their point of view (rather than just relaying the information through dialogue) is significant.(EDIT: Also--and again my memory might be off--but aren't the opening credits done in a way that emphasizes the puzzle? IE, the words are spelled using the Zodiac symbols?) Like House...it's the puzzle that drives Graysmith, not a sense of duty.

2) Each victim gets exactly one scene, and it's the scene where they're murdered. And as I pointed out earlier, Fincher goes to a great deal of trouble to completely deny them any agency during these scenes (all the male victims are emasculated, for example). You're required to do a great deal of post-hoc rationalizing to inculcate some sense of honor in Graysmith's behavior, that he's "respect(ing) the lost potential of those silent dead," since there's very little on-screen evidence to indicate that.
   1138. Benji Gil Gamesh is not being paid to be that guy Posted: July 30, 2010 at 10:58 PM (#3604319)
The problem with superhero movies is they're inherently lame. Even the very best ones are just kind of meh.


I should let this thread die, but this bugs me. It's no different from someone who doesn't like westerns, or screwball comedies, or sci-fi, or noir, or romcoms, or animated movies, or any other film genre from saying they are "inherently lame." It's arrogant and annoying.
   1139. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader Posted: July 30, 2010 at 11:13 PM (#3604329)
Nice rant, Vlad! I didn't realize those other films were Finchers, to be honest.

I should let this thread die, but this bugs me. It's no different from someone who doesn't like westerns, or screwball comedies, or sci-fi, or noir, or romcoms, or animated movies, or any other film genre from saying they are "inherently lame." It's arrogant and annoying.

All those other genres are pretty cool. Superhero movies...meh. I tried for about 15 years, got excited about the hype, convinced myself this would be the director and action hero that would do it, and then was almost without fail let down. Of the dozens I've seen what's the best? Spider Man 2? Iron Man? The Dark Night? That's just not much of a peak to me. Marvel ain't getting my 10 bucks anymore. (Now that I've written all this I realize Hellboy is a superhero and completely undercuts my entire post. Goddammit. I like Hellboy, especially the second one.)

And by the way, Barnes and Noble is selling Criterion and Eclipse collections for half off. Picked up a bunch of Japanese New Wave on the way home.
   1140. Lassus: Posted: July 30, 2010 at 11:35 PM (#3604349)
Spider Man 2? Iron Man? The Dark Night? That's just not much of a peak to me.

Actually once I wiki'd, it seems the genre is pretty small, by sheer numbers. If you did some kind of percentages thing, those, plus the Hellboys, and - depending on some subjectivity - Burton's Batman, the Crow, and Watchmen, I actually don't think it's a bad peak at all.
   1141. Biff isn't really an apt handle anymore Posted: July 31, 2010 at 12:03 AM (#3604380)
The thing with Lebowski is that you can't just watch it just once to decide how you feel, really. It wasn't until I had seen it a few times that I realized almost every single line was hilarious.
   1142. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: July 31, 2010 at 12:10 AM (#3604389)
The protagonist is buffeted by the winds of fortune, and he considers giving in to despair, and then he rises up in the third act and actively rejects the nihilistic worldview.

This is basically what happens in The Game as well, although not really in Se7en.

Of the dozens I've seen what's the best? Spider Man 2? Iron Man? The Dark Night? That's just not much of a peak to me.

I'm not a big fan of the genre either, although I haven't seen Iron Man, which I'm told is the best of the bunch. Spider-Man (all of them) were unbearable, Dark Knight was good but as others have said, they ended it 30 minutes too late.

The first X-Men movie is probably my favorite. The second one is quite enjoyable too, but the plot didn't make much sense...what did Magneto plan to do if he succeeded in killing all the non-mutants? 5 billion dead bodies probably start to smell pretty quickly.
   1143. Greg Pope Posted: July 31, 2010 at 12:35 AM (#3604401)
Any Marx Brothers fans here seen Brain Donors? Clearly an homage/rip off of A Night at the Opera among others, done, I believe, by the Zucker/Abrams/Zucker team. My college-aged mind thought it was hilarious.

EDIT: OK, it wasn't a ZAZ production, although it was partially written by Pat Proft, a frequent collaborator, and Abrams and one Zucker were originally attached to the project.
   1144. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: July 31, 2010 at 12:51 AM (#3604412)
I have two huge problems I have with that analysis:


I think that both of your objections are somewhat mooted by the fact that it's a movie based on a true story. The old couple solved the cipher because that's how it really happened. The men didn't fight back in the movie because they didn't fight back in real life.

I agree that the puzzle element was played up a bit in the case of Graysmith, but that's about characterization rather than detachment. Graysmith is consistently portrayed as an awkward, unsocial man. His co-workers even question whether he's "touched in the head". Shared interest in the puzzle aspects is the only way that he's able to associate with the others working the case (and, for that matter, involve himself in something that's not strictly his job, as an editorial cartoonist).
   1145. Benji Gil Gamesh is not being paid to be that guy Posted: July 31, 2010 at 01:02 AM (#3604422)
I'm not a big fan of the genre either, although I haven't seen Iron Man, which I'm told is the best of the bunch. Spider-Man (all of them) were unbearable, Dark Knight was good but as others have said, they ended it 30 minutes too late.


My favorites are probably both Nolan Batmans (I really dig origin stories so I don't put Dark Knight as far above Begins as probably most others), Iron Man, the first X-Men (though 2 was decent), first 2 Spideys (3rd was awful), and Watchmen. And I liked Superman Returns too.

I also think Darkman was entertaining as hell as a we're-not-real-serious-about-this "superhero" movie.
   1146. Biff isn't really an apt handle anymore Posted: July 31, 2010 at 01:07 AM (#3604425)
I don't regret seeing Spider-Man 3 in the theater, because it was good to share that awful experience with other people. A lot of people (myself included) burst out laughing when Spidey landed on a roof with the American flag billowing dramatically in the background.
   1147. Bitter Mouse Posted: July 31, 2010 at 01:14 AM (#3604429)
So ...

I have plenty of opinions about movies in general, but I wanted to chip in with some very underrated movies. They are not my favorites of all time, but they are very good. The stunt man, Bullworth, and Barcelona are good movies and much better than they are typically remembered (when remembered at all).

Regarding De Palma mostly he is bad - or more precisely the start of his movies is usually very good, but then his movies turn to crap, but Blow Out is a strangely good movie.
   1148. Bitter Mouse Posted: July 31, 2010 at 01:16 AM (#3604432)
Oh yeah ... the Coen movies are usually great (I love Barton Fink, for example), but No Country was not enjoyable to me. The passionate love for the movie almost makes me rethink my position, but man I just didn't like it. I wanted to, but nope.
   1149. Swoboda is freedom Posted: July 31, 2010 at 01:26 AM (#3604438)
The protagonist is buffeted by the winds of fortune, and he considers giving in to despair, and then he rises up in the third act and actively rejects the nihilistic worldview.

This is basically what happens in The Game as well, although not really in Se7en.


I generally like his movies but I have always had a major problem with Se7en. First, the constant rain. My major problem with the movie was the ending. Spacey kills the "guilty" people. The slothful, vainful, etc. Except he kills Brad Pitts wife, because of envy. But she was not envious, he was. Paltrow was the innocent person and she was killed for anothers deadly sin. I always thought that was wrong.
   1150. PreservedFish Posted: July 31, 2010 at 02:00 AM (#3604464)
I finally got around to seeing The Seventh Seal last night. I was afraid it was going to be one of those boring, good-for-you movies, but it's good stuff.


I've always considered this a boring, good-for-you movie.

There is one character that is entertaining - the sidekick with dark hair, who actually kicks ass and saves lives while Von Sydow is morosely ruminating about doing the same and failing to accomplish it. There is some terrific cinematography and imagery. Lots of memorable shots. It's been years now, maybe I would enjoy it more now.

But I can't get over the symbolism, and expect that will always bother me. It is just piled on endlessly and everywhere. Watching this makes me feel like Bergman had just discovered that he could apply literary pretensions to film, and he got over-excited with his new toy. I have a similar opinion of Rashomon.
   1151. Davo the Magnificent Posted: July 31, 2010 at 02:08 AM (#3604476)
I think that both of your objections are somewhat mooted by the fact that it's a movie based on a true story.
Well, sure, but Dirty Harry was based on the same story too. ;)The director still has choices to make.
   1152. Swoboda is freedom Posted: July 31, 2010 at 02:14 AM (#3604487)
I finally got around to seeing The Seventh Seal last night.

There is some terrific cinematography and imagery. Lots of memorable shots.


I always thought Bergman was wildly overrated and I saw his movies as good for me and didn't really like them. That said, the cinematography for Seal was good. So much of it looks cliched now, but that was because it established the standard, which everyone copied to the point that it became the cliche.
   1153. Tuque Posted: July 31, 2010 at 02:26 AM (#3604495)
some people mentioned liking Children of Men. These people are wrong. It is a ####### disgrace.

Children of Men is great. I will fight you. I will fight you right now.
   1154. cercle Posted: July 31, 2010 at 02:29 AM (#3604497)
Alright, so maybe not Fincher, but Gus Van Sant is definitely a nihilist, right?

Anyway, comic book movies are usually disappointing, sadly. X2 is probably my favorite. I liked the first X-Men, too. Brian Singer failed with the new Superman, but he deserves credit for making two of the better films in the genre. Comic book people hate Burton's Batmans, though I like them better than Nolan's. I liked V for Vendetta quite a bit and while the film was definitely meant as a comment on the Bush administration, which the creator was not happy with, I thought it captured the themes of the original well.
   1155. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: July 31, 2010 at 02:30 AM (#3604498)
Except he kills Brad Pitts wife, because of envy. But she was not envious, he was. Paltrow was the innocent person and she was killed for anothers deadly sin.

Yeah, although I liked the movie, this always bothered me too.

John Doe himself is the one who is killed because of envy. There is nobody who dies for the sin of wrath, unless you want to believe that Pitt received the death penalty for shooting John Doe at the end.
   1156. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: July 31, 2010 at 02:31 AM (#3604500)
I never understood the love for Children of Men. I mean, it wasn't "a disgrace," but it wasn't good either.
   1157. cercle Posted: July 31, 2010 at 02:37 AM (#3604504)
Best Bergman movies:

1. The Virgin Spring
2. Persona
3. The Seventh Seal
4. Autumn Sonata
5. Hour of the Wolf
   1158. Tuque Posted: July 31, 2010 at 02:38 AM (#3604505)
I never understood the love for Children of Men. I mean, it wasn't "a disgrace," but it wasn't good either.

It was outstanding! It was incredible. It was one of the tensest, most thrilling movie-going experiences of all-time. It was aesthetically and technically brilliant. Clive Owen oozes awesome like mucus from his eyeballs. I cannot believe anyone did not love that movie. I love that movie more than my foot. I love that movie more than all of my childhood pets, even if all of those pets could be combined into one super-pet. I rewatch that movie at least once every three months or so. It is the greatest thing.
   1159. PreservedFish Posted: July 31, 2010 at 02:46 AM (#3604513)
These people are wrong. It is a ####### disgrace.


These flippant and supremely negative judgments still bother me. It's pretty rare that I see a movie that I really think is a disgrace, or one that has absolutely no qualities. But some people on this thread really enjoy such summary dismissals. They must be exagerrating, right?

I liked Children of Men. I didn't love it. The one-shot scene in the apartment building, where a spoiler-alert-causing event occurs to silence a battle, was pretty amazing. I didn't like Michael Caine. I wasn't impressed with the imagination of the piece. I don't know. There was good and bad. Worth seeing.
   1160. Lassus: Posted: July 31, 2010 at 03:47 AM (#3604543)
But some people on this thread really enjoy such summary dismissals. They must be exaggerating, right?

I'm not sure if you're aware, but Gaelan's somewhat mental.
   1161. PreservedFish Posted: July 31, 2010 at 03:56 AM (#3604548)
Oh, I'm aware of Gaelan and his charming idiosyncrasies. I never miss a Gaelan post.
   1162. Fred Lynn Nolan Ryan Sweeney Agonistes Posted: July 31, 2010 at 04:54 AM (#3604561)
0. Wild Strawberries.
I remember really liking that one, though it's been awhile.
   1163. RayDiPerna Posted: July 31, 2010 at 05:18 AM (#3604569)
Okay, then that cinches it. Baxter's so damn perfect in All About Eve, and so well cast in The Blue Gardenia, that I'm willing to try her even in a western.


Andy, might I suggest this Columbo episode -- Requiem for a Fallen Star -- for a fun Anne Baxter turn as a murderess. She plays an aging movie star who is being blackmailed by a gossip reporter.
   1164. Sonic Youk Posted: July 31, 2010 at 05:40 AM (#3604572)
The scene with Kirsten Dunst running in slow motion in a wedding dress at the end of Spiderman 2 was worse than anything in 3. That movie sucked.
   1165. Davo the Magnificent Posted: July 31, 2010 at 06:04 AM (#3604581)
These flippant and supremely negative judgments still bother me. It's pretty rare that I see a movie that I really think is a disgrace, or one that has absolutely no qualities. But some people on this thread really enjoy such summary dismissals. They must be exagerrating, right?
I don't get upset or angry over movies that are just bad. I mean, I saw "Valentine's Day" on Valentine's Day, and it was predictably bad. But it had some funny scenes and everyone in it was attractive and--most importantly--it wasn't about anything. That's the key--that's what makes it impossible for me to hate it. I didn't enjoy watching it and I hope I'll never see it again...but I don't hate it.

The movies that I hate are those that (in my opinion) promote terrible life-values--movies that praise cynicism/nihilism and ridicule success/happiness. When I say that, suppose, Lars Von Trier's Antichrist has no redeeming qualities, I'm not saying that just because the cinematography was sloppy and I didn't like the score, or whatnot. I'm saying it has no redeeming qualities because if you watch it and take it seriously you will become a worse person. It corrupts you. It's the exact opposite of the purpose of art.

...I've gathered that my viewpoint on film is unusual. I'm fine with that. There's more than one way to watch a film, and there's no guaranty that mine is right, but I think that's what's causing the confusion.
   1166. Lassus: Posted: July 31, 2010 at 06:46 AM (#3604589)
When I say that, suppose, Lars Von Trier's Antichrist has no redeeming qualities, I'm not saying that just because the cinematography was sloppy and I didn't like the score, or whatnot. I'm saying it has no redeeming qualities because if you watch it and take it seriously you will become a worse person. It corrupts you. It's the exact opposite of the purpose of art.

I think the problem is, however, that citing Lars von Trier's Antichrist vs. something like Zodiac, it really becomes a lot more subjective than you're giving the films credit for. There are a million ways - as already said - to see Zodiac as a hopeful film about people dealing with reality. To make an empirical judgment across the board for this film - as well as a number of others - simply isn't fair.
   1167. PreservedFish Posted: July 31, 2010 at 06:59 AM (#3604591)
It corrupts you. It's the exact opposite of the purpose of art.


That seems like a controversial statement.

...I've gathered that my viewpoint on film is unusual. I'm fine with that. There's more than one way to watch a film, and there's no guaranty that mine is right, but I think that's what's causing the confusion.


I love unusual viewpoints, and I have absolutely loved all of your contributions to this thread because of it, but if you had shown such humility earlier you might have forestalled some of the "troll!" calls.
   1168. Gaelan Posted: July 31, 2010 at 09:34 AM (#3604598)
We did the extended commentary on Children of Men in another thread. That was just a throwaway line to bring back fond memories for Lassus. That might have also been the I hate Dark Knight tread. I can't remember. Both are bad, but Dark Knight is worse. Children of Men is pretentious, pointless, post-yuppie dreck but has some ok moments, while Dark Knight is actively bad.

The main point of my post was my liking for Inception. I'll also add that while I kind of agree with the "point of art" post I also liked Zodiac and don't think it applies in that case. I would apply it to unreademable filth like American Psycho (especially the book) or something like that.
   1169. David Nieporent (now, with children) Posted: July 31, 2010 at 09:51 AM (#3604599)
I generally like his movies but I have always had a major problem with Se7en. First, the constant rain. My major problem with the movie was the ending. Spacey kills the "guilty" people. The slothful, vainful, etc.
"Vainful"?
   1170. McCoy Posted: July 31, 2010 at 10:16 AM (#3604604)
Saw Inception yesterday and it was okay. I don't think it was a great film and Nolan really loves making really long films. The visuals didn't really impress me. I guess I'm spoiled but after seeing Hellboy 2, Matrix, Avatar, and various other special effect movies most of the visuals were just meh. What was left was a pretty weak script and no interesting characters. The fight scenes were emotionless and because of that there was no attachment to the characters battling in them. Saito is slowly dying and I don't care. 3rd Rock from the Sun is fighting in zero G and it just doens't mean anything because the villians are faceless and there is little reason to care if 3rd Rock lives or dies. Plus like someone else mentioned way in the beginning you have the Leo character basically using everybody to get what he wants and everybody seeming to be okay with it.

Nolan really doesn't seem to know when to end a story and he always seems to be juggling several different storylines at once so at the end it usually always takes an extra 30 minutes or so to wrap up all the story lines. I think Inception had the quickest ending but Dark Knight and Prestige had drawn out and multiple endings and even Memento had a longish ending.

I'll probably go see Salt next it was a pretty good book and it will be interesting to see Angelina's take on the cod trade and how salt impacted world history.
   1171. Quiet Flows the Don Taussig Avenger (Edmundo) Posted: July 31, 2010 at 10:53 AM (#3604608)
I'll probably go see Salt next it was a pretty good book and it will be interesting to see Angelina's take on the cod trade and how salt impacted world history.

:) I had forgotten that I wanted to read Salt; next trip to the library web site I will reserve it.
   1172. BWV 1129 Posted: August 01, 2010 at 02:24 AM (#3605305)
My major problem with the movie was the ending. Spacey kills the "guilty" people. The slothful, vainful, etc. Except he kills Brad Pitts wife, because of envy. But she was not envious, he was. Paltrow was the innocent person and she was killed for anothers deadly sin. I always thought that was wrong.

Well, yeah, that's the point -- she dies for Pitt's sin.
   1173. BWV 1129 Posted: August 01, 2010 at 02:29 AM (#3605308)
An attempt to rank the Bergman films I've seen:

A+
1. Wild Strawberries
2. The Seventh Seal
3. Cries and Whispers
4. Persona
5. Winter Light
6. Shame
7. Saraband
8. The Virgin Spring

A
9. Smiles of a Summer Night

A-
10. The Magician
11. Through a Glass Darkly

B
12. Scenes from a Marriage

B-
13. The Silence

C-
14. The Serpent's Egg

I'm surprised that I've seen so few. I went on a real kick five years ago.
   1174. Morty Causa Posted: August 01, 2010 at 02:33 AM (#3605311)
"Vainful"?


Okay, "vainfully-wise." Happy?
   1175. Alex meets the threshold for granular review Posted: August 01, 2010 at 03:26 AM (#3605335)
I would go:

A+: Fanny and Alexander, Scenes from a Marriage, The Seventh Seal, Winter Light, Shame
A: Cries and Whispers, Through a Glass Darkly, Wild Strawberries
B+: The Virgin Spring, Persona
B: The Magician
B-: Saraband, Hamnstad, To Joy
C: Autumn Sonata, Hour of the Wolf, The Silence
C-: Thirst, The Making of Fanny and Alexander
D: The Passion of Anna, Crisis

I loooooove Bergman.
   1176. Petooter: 11'6" 355 lbs of scrap and grit Posted: August 01, 2010 at 03:44 AM (#3605339)
These flippant and supremely negative judgments still bother me. It's pretty rare that I see a movie that I really think is a disgrace, or one that has absolutely no qualities. But some people on this thread really enjoy such summary dismissals. They must be exagerrating, right?

I would have agreed with you completely except that I just watched The Book of Eli on DVD last night. That movie was a ####ing disgrace. Didn't make a single shred of sense, preachy to the point of self-parody, and utterly boring on top of it.
   1177. BWV 1129 Posted: August 01, 2010 at 03:48 AM (#3605340)
I would have agreed with you completely except that I just watched The Book of Eli on DVD last night. That movie was a ####ing disgrace. Didn't make a single shred of sense, preachy to the point of self-parody, and utterly boring on top of it.

I didn't realize Andy was making movies.
   1178. BWV 1129 Posted: August 01, 2010 at 03:49 AM (#3605341)
(That was a joke. I have no quarrel with Andy.)
   1179. Phil Coorey, You Won't Posted: August 01, 2010 at 04:10 AM (#3605347)
Nolan really doesn't seem to know when to end a story and he always seems to be juggling several different storylines at once so at the end it usually always takes an extra 30 minutes or so to wrap up all the story lines. I think Inception had the quickest ending but Dark Knight and Prestige had drawn out and multiple endings and even Memento had a longish ending.


In my mind , all of Mememto is an ending. That is why I love it so much.

I still think Insomnia is criminally under rated as well - does it get much love here? Everyone talks about Nolan and never mentions frigging Insomnia...

(Maybe I missed all the posts on Insomnia -I can't sift through thousands of posts to see though)
   1180. McCoy Posted: August 01, 2010 at 08:08 AM (#3605380)
Insomnia has been mentioned a bit in this thread with the people mentioning it saying they like it. Personally I did not like it. It was boring and maybe that was the tone he was going for, if so kudos, but I still didn't like it.
   1181. Phil Coorey, You Won't Posted: August 01, 2010 at 09:01 AM (#3605382)
Thanks McCoy - I am a real Nolan fan boy , if only for his first two movies and latest. I think I loved Insomnia mainly as Pacino proved he could still act after all his screaming and shouting bull #### since Scent of a Woman. (that and Donnie Brasco)

I really should one day go back over and read the thread, I've missed the last 600 posts.
   1182. Jolly Old St. Neck Wound, Moral Idiot Posted: August 01, 2010 at 09:42 AM (#3605385)
Insomnia has been mentioned a bit in this thread with the people mentioning it saying they like it.

Hell, if it weren't for insomnia, some of the best posts in threads like this would never get written.
   1183. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: August 01, 2010 at 11:36 AM (#3605395)
Clive Owen oozes awesome like mucus from his eyeballs.


Let me state, from experience, that oozing large quantities of mucus from your eyeballs is not awesome at all, whether Clive Owen does it or not. In fact, it kind of sucks.

The last time I did it, I was like eight years old, and the mucus hardened into a shell overnight and totally immobilized my eyelids, such that when I woke up and tried to open my eyes and couldn't, I thought I'd unexpectedly gone blind and, in the parlance of the masses, freaked right the #### out.
   1184. McCoy Posted: August 01, 2010 at 09:25 PM (#3605678)
Saw SALT today, what a mindless and joyless action flick. I know Angelini is getting all rave reviews because she is a middle aged woman playing a part meant for a man but what a horrible job to hang your hat on. I watched another movie the other day called Operation Endgame which was some C movie action comedy that probably went straight to video and that movie had about as much soul and sense as SALT.

Plus, why in the hell do all action heroes nowadays have to be Superman without the krypton?
   1185. SugarBear Blanks Posted: August 01, 2010 at 09:46 PM (#3605690)
The stunt man, Bullworth, and Barcelona are good movies and much better than they are typically remembered (when remembered at all

I remember all three of Whit Stillman's movies very fondly. On a high curve:

1. Metropolitan
2. The Last Days of Disco
3. Barcelona.

Put me down for Wild Strawberries #1 on the Bergman list.
   1186. Davo the Magnificent Posted: August 01, 2010 at 09:46 PM (#3605692)
Does anyone know where I could find a copy of Michael Haneke's essay "Media + Violence"?

I ask because I just saw the original Funny Games, and the only thing I took from it is that Haneke is a an awful, misanthropic man--ie, whatever messages he was trying to deliver about the portrayal/aestheticization of violence in the media got lost among the overwhelming bleakness on display.
   1187. Bob Dernier Cri Posted: August 01, 2010 at 10:16 PM (#3605705)
pretty rare that I see a movie that I really think is a disgrace, or one that has absolutely no qualities

Me too. Most films that get made have one or two things that the makers managed not to get wrong. I can think of some of the worst movies I've ever seen – take Meet the Fockers, for instance – and someone at least had the interesting idea of casting Hoffman and Streisand. And the moxie to talk them into it. The execution was terrible, but it was a professional test of endurance for all concerned. I was not ashamed of Robert DeNiro after I saw the picture.

The films that I have found pretty much nothing to say for at all tend to be baseball films, because I will watch absolutely anything about baseball. Probably the three worst movies I've ever seen are two third-sequels (Bad News Bears Go to Japan and Major League Back to the Minors) and the bottom of the barrel, a film called Ed. Ed is the one with Matt LeBlanc and the chimpanzee. I mean, you'd think that "Matt LeBlanc and a chimpanzee" would be saying enough, but it's a really badly-done animatronic chimpanzee. Plus the film seems to have been written and shot by people who had never seen a movie before. They set up the camera in very odd places and cut the footage together randomly. And this ain't the artsy variety of odd angles and random editing, believe me. If you ever try to see it you will be begging for someone to anaesthetise you after a couple of reels.

But really, anything better than that has something worthwhile in it. One of the worst major pictures I ever saw was Exposed, with Rudolf Nureyev and Nastassja Kinski – unbelievably bad, but you got to look at Nastassja Kinski. Which beats looking at Matt LeBlanc.
   1188. Every Inge Counts Posted: August 01, 2010 at 10:19 PM (#3605706)
I was looking for it, but came across this quote from Haneke:

"My films are intended as polemical statements against the American 'barrel down' cinema and its dis-empowerment of the spectator. They are an appeal for a cinema of insistent questions instead of false (because too quick) answers, for clarifying distance in place of violating closeness, for provocation and dialogue instead of consumption and consensus."

from Film as Catharsis

http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/03/haneke.html
   1189. Kurt Posted: August 01, 2010 at 10:37 PM (#3605716)
Bob, you might enjoy this.
   1190. Lassus: Posted: August 01, 2010 at 10:39 PM (#3605718)
"My films are intended as polemical statements against the American 'barrel down' cinema and its dis-empowerment of the spectator. They are an appeal for a cinema of insistent questions instead of false (because too quick) answers, for clarifying distance in place of viola-GONG!

"Thanks for coming, now get out!"

[/Barris]
   1191. RayDiPerna Posted: August 01, 2010 at 11:34 PM (#3605734)
Fell into Shoot to Kill over the weekend on cable. 1988 action movie starring Sidney Poitier, Tom Berenger, and Kirstie Alley. I had seen it 20 years ago. Poitier plays a federal agent trying to capture a murdering extortionist who has escaped to the mountains and has embedded himself into a group guided by Alley. Berenger plays Alley's boyfriend, and guides a determined Poitier into the wilderness to find them.

It's not the greatest movie you'll ever see but is lots of fun and is perfect for settling on after flipping through the channels. Poitier plays the role of city-cop-who-is-out-of-his-element masterfully.

Also, the score sticks out as being exceptionally well done.

The movie reminded me that there are a lot of Poitier movies I still need to see. (Saw The Jackal for the second time this weekend also, though I'm referring more to his earlier work.)
   1192. hokieneer Posted: August 02, 2010 at 12:37 AM (#3605762)
Saw SALT today

And that was your first mistake.
   1193. Der_K is getting more dogmatic. Posted: August 02, 2010 at 01:05 AM (#3605782)
I very much liked Children of Men, in part because I didn't take it too seriously as an allegory.

Insomnia suffers in part for not being as good as the original version.

Just saw Inception, my first movie of the year (need to use babysitters more often). I liked it as a fun little puzzle box, but part of what came with that was a lot of exposition and some predictable conclusions. Still, it was neat seeing Nolan put it together, talented guy.

Big Lebowski definitely improves with repeated viewings. As does Anchorman, for some reason.
   1194. AJM Posted: August 02, 2010 at 01:52 AM (#3605803)
Watched Zodiac again today. Hard to believe that it didn't get one Oscar nomination (picture, Fincher, Ruffalo), the March release date did it no favors.

Big Lebowski definitely improves with repeated viewings

Yup. I didn't like it the first time I saw it.
   1195. Avoid running at all times.-S. Paige Posted: August 02, 2010 at 02:39 AM (#3605816)
I ask because I just saw the original Funny Games, and the only thing I took from it is that Haneke is a an awful, misanthropic man--ie, whatever messages he was trying to deliver about the portrayal/aestheticization of violence in the media got lost among the overwhelming bleakness on display.


I warned you. Seriously, somewhere in this thread, I told you not to watch Funny Games.

"My films are intended as polemical statements against the American 'barrel down' cinema and its dis-empowerment of the spectator. They are an appeal for a cinema of insistent questions instead of false (because too quick) answers, for clarifying distance in place of violating closeness, for provocation and dialogue instead of consumption and consensus."


This statement and the fact that his movies are unwatchable make me feel proud to be an American. And I'm not the patriotic type.
   1196. Davo the Magnificent Posted: August 02, 2010 at 02:56 AM (#3605829)
I warned you. Seriously, somewhere in this thread, I told you not to watch Funny Games.
I know, but I thought you were just talking about the American remake. ;)

One good thing: It was better than Stone's Natural Born Killers.

Man Bites Dog is still the best exploration of the violence in media topic, in my opinion.
   1197. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: August 02, 2010 at 06:39 AM (#3605870)
I think Inception had the quickest ending but Dark Knight and Prestige had drawn out and multiple endings and even Memento had a longish ending.

I didn't love the ending of Prestige, but I have a hard time seeing how you could have ended it any earlier.
   1198. Phil Coorey, You Won't Posted: August 02, 2010 at 06:46 AM (#3605872)
Fell into Shoot to Kill over the weekend on cable. 1988 action movie starring Sidney Poitier, Tom Berenger, and Kirstie Alley. I had seen it 20 years ago. Poitier plays a federal agent trying to capture a murdering extortionist who has escaped to the mountains and has embedded himself into a group guided by Alley. Berenger plays Alley's boyfriend, and guides a determined Poitier into the wilderness to find them.


It was called Deadly Pursuit in Oz. I always liked it
   1199. Arnett Mead (Arjun) Posted: August 02, 2010 at 10:30 AM (#3605885)
"10 Things I Hate About You" was on TV today and I happened to notice during the film that the actor who was playing Cameron looks like a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Apparently the actor who was playing Cameron *is* a (really) young Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

I did not remember that from the last time I saw that movie.
   1200. Avoid running at all times.-S. Paige Posted: August 02, 2010 at 10:58 AM (#3605890)
Apparently the actor who was playing Cameron *is* a (really) young Joseph Gordon-Levitt


When does Joseph Gordon-Levitt not look like a really young Joseph Gordon-Levitt? The writer of the posted article was mocked for saying that the actors were too young, but he had a point. Levitt-Gordon and Page look like teenagers and, in some way, it made the story less credible.
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