Author Topic: Write about the last movie you watched (2006-2010)  (Read 5996557 times)

Corndog

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31500 on: May 22, 2010, 09:26:07 AM »
ses593
To Kill A Mockingbird
Directed by Robert Mulligan; Written by Horton Foote

To Kill a Mockingbird. A book I read in school as a child and a movie I never got around to seeing. I think this might be a tragedy. I remember really liking the book. It was about two kids, Jem and Scout, and their awesome dad who defended not only a man, but a black man and all that was right and just in the world. Then of course there was good ol', spooky Boo Radley. Apart from that I did not recall much except to say that I remember really enjoying the book. As for the movie itself, I know I have heard all about how great it is and all that, Gregory Peck delivers one of the best on screen performances, but I never did see it until now and I say what a shame that is, and I will let you know why.
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Pratters

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31501 on: May 22, 2010, 10:32:05 AM »
The River Wild (another GREAT true thriller)

I always thought that, but nobody ever agrees with me.

*mad high fives*

I mean c'mon! You got Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, David Strathairn, John C Reilly... it's an amazing cluster of talant. And what an adventure!

Add another high five to the mix, I enjoyed The River Wild a bunch when I watched it.  :)

Me too!

Yep, definitely a fun film.  Probably watched it a dozen times as a kid.

I love Meryl Streep. Added to my to watch list with so many recommendations.

Watched Syndromes and a Century btw and I found it a very difficult film to comprehend.
« Last Edit: May 22, 2010, 10:44:00 AM by Pratters »

Corndog

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31502 on: May 22, 2010, 11:18:29 AM »
My Dinner With Andre (Louis Malle, 1981)

This was something born completely of Filmspotting. I would have never heard of this, or definitely sought it out. It was an interesting watch, but I'm not sure what all I got out of it. As a film it is somewhat unimpressive. By that I mean there is not much to it apart from the writing by the two actors. It is literally two guys sitting at a dinner table catching up. It isn't flashy, it isn't stylized. What it does is raise interesting questions and present interesting things that have happened in Andre Gregory's life. I liked sitting in and listening to these two intellectuals and their high level of conversation, but it might not be something I revisit and I would be lying if I didn't say it was a struggle to pay attention all the way through. Is it unique, is it new, is it interesting? Sure, but that doesn't make it good and with the setting remaining the same it was tedious and hard to concentrate and focus for the entire runtime. Maybe if it were somewhat shorter, but I didn't really get a whole lot out of it.

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mañana

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31503 on: May 22, 2010, 11:24:19 AM »
The action figures are great.
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oldkid

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31504 on: May 22, 2010, 12:04:22 PM »
A Short Film About Love - Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1988

Although I haven't seen any part of the Decalogue, I have seen A Short Film About Killing and Love certainly has a similar eeriness to it. Both have odd protagonists but neither are portrayed as outcasts. We aren't asked to accept their difficulties but merely to be aware of them. In fact, we aren't asked anything. Like the Three Colours Trilogy we are just given a rich fantastic story without an agenda.

Apparently this section has a different ending in the shorter version which I find incredible as I was wondering for the last 15 minutes how on Earth Kieslowski could finish this. He arrived at a great solution so I wonder how the other one compares.

7.5/10.

Kieslowski wrote the original, shorter ending which just left us hanging.  That's what's seen in the Decalogue.  In reflilming this, the actress suggested the final scene, which Kieslowski wrote and filmed.  That ending is perfect.
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Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31505 on: May 22, 2010, 12:15:03 PM »
Yea, I kinda don't want to see the short version because I love ever scene in the film version as it is.

chardy999

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31506 on: May 22, 2010, 01:25:43 PM »
A Short Film About Love - Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1988

Although I haven't seen any part of the Decalogue, I have seen A Short Film About Killing and Love certainly has a similar eeriness to it. Both have odd protagonists but neither are portrayed as outcasts. We aren't asked to accept their difficulties but merely to be aware of them. In fact, we aren't asked anything. Like the Three Colours Trilogy we are just given a rich fantastic story without an agenda.

Apparently this section has a different ending in the shorter version which I find incredible as I was wondering for the last 15 minutes how on Earth Kieslowski could finish this. He arrived at a great solution so I wonder how the other one compares.

7.5/10.

Kieslowski wrote the original, shorter ending which just left us hanging.  That's what's seen in the Decalogue.  In reflilming this, the actress suggested the final scene, which Kieslowski wrote and filmed.  That ending is perfect.

Haha, clever girl! Really nice to know that and yeah I completely agree with you and lotr-sam. Gotta find a copy of The Double Life of Véronique now.
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Bondo

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31507 on: May 22, 2010, 01:48:14 PM »
Short version of Love was fine with me. Considering they were the two picked out of the Decalogue for extended treatment, I was kind of underwhelmed by Love and especially Killing. There were many better segments in The Decalogue.

I should have my review of The Decalogue up later today.

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31508 on: May 22, 2010, 02:07:22 PM »
Gotta find a copy of The Double Life of Véronique now.
Happy to hear this. More Kieslowski love!

Speaking of which...

I should have my review of The Decalogue up later today.
This should give me an incentive to finish the series.

Bondo

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #31509 on: May 22, 2010, 03:57:10 PM »
The Decalogue (1989)

I. The Decalogue starts of in brilliant style with this deeply touching personal story and hints at the promise of the context. The connection to the first commandment, having no other gods, is subtle, but present in the form of the main characters’ interest in science. If all chapters were as powerful as this, The Decalogue would certainly find a place in my top ten of all time. I’m not sure it condemns science so much as shows the world as being so large in its connection of variables as to be beyond human capacity.

II. This is a solid segment that takes the useful position that the relevance to the commandment to not take the lord’s name in vain is not simply using it as a curse word but actually swearing to God as a way of supporting one’s word. The connection isn't really touched upon until the end, but it provides just enough to make the story pay off.

III. In Roger Ebert’s introduction, he commends Kieslowski for not being committed to making each segment a direct reference to its corresponding commandment. Personally, I feel this is a mistake to a certain degree. I don’t need much of a tie (see I and II) but it should still be the thematic heart. Of course, it is hard to decide what interesting story could revolve around not keeping the Sabbath day holy. I’m not exactly sure how this story ties into that, but I didn’t really find it that interesting.

IV. I think this is probably a better segment, dealing with honoring your parents, than I’m willing to give it credit for, because it is just really creepy. I won’t say more other than Anka is really beautiful.

V. As one of the big two sections expanded into longer films, this one was kind of underwhelming. Sure, the death penalty is bad, but I’m not sure there is much in this case to make it a specifically effective argument against it. Ok, so the kid is troubled and ok, so those he acts against seem to be potentially flawed individuals. But it isn’t really emotionally griping to me. Maybe the longer version would be more effective in establishing this but it seems a lost opportunity on one of the commandments that would seem easiest to develop a film around.

VI. If I were a famous Polish director, I totally would have taken a different turn with this. I mean, you’ve got a great set-up. You’ve got a woman and her stalker. He signs up to be milkman in order to get close to her. He rings the door bell, she opens, he says “I’m the milkman” she says “come in” *cue porno music* bam, adultery, thou shall not commit. The incorporation of porn themes into high-concept film would be genius. But that isn’t the direction that this goes, which is sad. Wait, that is totally the direction this goes…this section is freaking awesome.

All joking aside, I don’t think this works thematically as well as the first part but it is certainly one of the most interesting and tense. Also, based on the description of the ending in the extended version, I can see why they tweaked it…fine either way.

VII. This was a really rich, emotional family drama. It has its relevance to the concept of stealing but is a little unusual in how it applies it such that it is up for debate whether stealing is involved and who is responsible. Just really excellent.

VIII. In an interesting turn, this section directly references a prior section and then mirrors it with another story that is relevant to lying and really digs into what is a lie or whether there are relevant distinctions in types or contexts for lies that change their moral value. The premise is perhaps a little stronger than how it plays out, but still appreciated.

IX. So the section dealing with adultery didn’t really involve adultery as we would now consider it but the section on coveting of thy neighbor’s wife involves adultery, not mere coveting. I guess it engages jealousy, which is a form of the envy that is implied by coveting but it just seems an obscure approach to the topic.

X. I’m pretty sure the best way to understand coveting your neighbor’s house is to turn on the Home and Garden channel.. That stuff is disgusting in its promotion of the most shallow and insane materialism. It is a show where you see people dissatisfied because their appliances are white rather than stainless steel. I suppose in film terms, The Joneses would be the relevant tale. But let’s see what we have on offer here to compare.

Like the previous section, there seems to be a little mix-up of the definition of covet. Sure, we see how greed can cause problems, but probably more directly relevant here is theft and again, we already had that section. This is another place where you can debate the merits of being slavish to the format. Does the section need to clearly speak to one and only one commandment and make sure not to touch the others?

This one works well as a closer, I suppose, in that it starts with one of the two brothers featured in the section, a member of a metal band, singing a song with lyrics that basically hit you over the head with the theme of the series. As a story about brothers, this is ultimately pretty good.

Anyway, having been through all ten episodes in the past few days, I did come away impressed. It is a bit uneven with its quality, but there are enough really engaging sections to support the high-concept set-up and make it very much worth watching. I like that the episodes all exist within one space and time, even with some more overt ties. I also appreciate "the cameo"...the quiet blue eyes, seemingly of a God or Christ figure looking on with a pitying gaze. This will make my list of tv shows/films of distinction attached to my Top Films update that is forthcoming.

My ranking goes 1, 7, 6, 2, 8, 10, 4, 5, 9, 3.

 

love