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Author Topic: Write about the last movie you watched (2006-2010)  (Read 5997469 times)

FroHam X

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32170 on: June 07, 2010, 10:38:40 PM »
Metropolis 1927

I was the person Matty was going to meet at the MusicBox but he got a bit...distracted.

Oh no. Did a pretty girl show up?
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Bondo

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32171 on: June 07, 2010, 11:26:26 PM »
The Devils (2002)

This film is a bit of a combination of Badlands and Pretty Baby. The Badlands comparison is more direct. We have a story here of two orphan siblings on the run from foster care. The girl suffers from something resembling autism which complicates their attempts to live on their own. We see the two in and out of institutions and as their interactions with society become increasingly desperate. The film, as the title might indicate, also draws a little on the evil child style of film.

The comparison to Pretty Baby is largely in the use of young actors in a complex and potentially exploitative way, or at least I'm sure that would be the American interpretation. The film is French (like the director of Pretty Baby) and I see no evidence based on a rudimentary search that this caused a controversy. In the interaction between the actors and the camera, this is arguably similar, however, while Pretty Baby involves a child living in a brothel and dealing with adults, The Devils has the two interacting with each other.

The acting here, especially the main two, is terrific. I had seen Adele Haenel before in her second film Water Lilies, but in her acting debut she just seems incredibly natural. Sure, playing a character with autism makes for a very mannered performance, but to paraphrase Garden State "I really thought you were autistic...If there was an autistic Oscar, you would win, hands down." She never breaks her character, though she evolves in a way that seems understandable.

Anyway, I can't say I truly enjoyed The Devils, it is a film that makes you very uneasy. But I do think the characters and the acting was ultimately quite strong and made it worth watching.

Beavermoose

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32172 on: June 07, 2010, 11:33:18 PM »
Mystic River
Decent film but not that great. Eastwood is an overrated director.
I haven't seen Unforgiven though.
How did Penn get an oscar for this? bah

oldkid

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32173 on: June 07, 2010, 11:45:03 PM »
How To Train A Dragon



This is the kind of fun most movies should be about.  Just take the flying scenes in Avatar, throw in a sarcastic teen instead of whatisname, add a ton more humor, and you've got it.  Yeah, most of it was predictable, and a lot of the characters were stereotypes, but it was all exceedingly entertaining.  I especially loved the creation of the dragons as a species and their quirks as well as I Jay Baruchael's deadpan delivery.  Very teen-ish.  And the basic cooperation v. violence message goes a long way with me.  4/5

Undercover Blues



Again, just a lot of fun.  Mr. and Mrs. Blue-- Dennis Quaid and Kathleen Turner-- are CIA operatives on an 18 month paternity leave, but get caught in the middle of a mission, while still watching over their infant.   Although it often scans like a mediocre 80s comedy, the delivery of Ms. Turner and especially Mr. Quaid completely wins me over.  This one wasn't seen by many, but I really enjoyed it and recommend it.  4/5
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Corndog

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32174 on: June 07, 2010, 11:50:40 PM »
Faust (F.W. Murnau, 1926) -

I am not well versed in silent film, though I have seen some of the heavy hitters (Battleship Potemkin, Birth of a Nation, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari). I have always somewhat sensed that the style is somewhat hard to stay focused on. I love Battleship P. and Caligari, but most of that has to do with stunning visuals. So I have before me a film of German folk figure from the director of that other famous silent film I have not seen, Sunrise. The story begins off in the best way possible. The audience is introduced to Faust and his ways, but also to an angel and Mephisto, the demon devil. The two make a wager that if Mephisto can turn Faust to evil his the earth shall be. I love this dark, good v. evil business, and the film does it so well. The acting in silent films is usually always over the top and it is no different here, though it is something I have come to accept and let slide when it comes to silents.

So you have this great set up with the wager and Mephisto goes into a town, ravaged by the plague and we begin to deal with issues of faith, which again is awesome and dealt with really well. So Mephisto begins to tempt Faust and offers him a one day trial to help cure the plague in essence, but when faced with curing in the name of Jesus, it is found out that he is league with the devil. So then Mephisto tricks him into letting him turn back the clock on his age and gets so tempted by his youth he turns in the one day trial for eternity. Great, I'm following along and loving it. So dark, so contemplative and theme oriented. But once he turns young again, the film lost me. Now listen, I have a heart and I like to think it is a big one and I love romance and all of its forms, but when he turns young and the romance begins it lost me thematically. I did not understand why Faust could fall for Mephisto's trick and be okay with it. And even if I accept that, what does the romance have to do with it, "how will it end?"

So needless to say I loved it all the way through about halfway, then I went cold on it and lost focus on what was going on. The ending, the return to the angel and Mephisto, the resolution of the wager was a return to form, but the elongated romance in the middle killed it for me. I still liked it and I liked it a lot, but would not pass over into the great category, though I certainly appreciated it and can see why it may be considered great by others. The ending, coupled with the romance in the middle left me almost feeling cheated. It did not seem fair. I do not know if that makes sense, but that is how I felt.

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frantastical

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32175 on: June 07, 2010, 11:53:00 PM »
Rear Window
This was probably my twentieth viewing.  The suspense still got me, Grace Kelly was still gorgeous, and Hitchcock's skill at telling a story without having excess dialogue was still there.  But this time everything was ten times more fun because I was able to see it on the big screen.  I was surprised by a lot of the crowd reactions; people found the scenes with Miss Lonelyhearts funny whereas I've always just found them really sad, but overall it was an amazing time. Still my #5 movie of all time.

oldkid

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32176 on: June 07, 2010, 11:55:28 PM »
Rear Window
  But this time everything was ten times more fun because I was able to see it on the big screen. 

Lucky.  I'm jealous. 
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oneaprilday

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32177 on: June 08, 2010, 12:06:28 AM »
Mystic River
How did Penn get an oscar for this? bah
People like over-acting, I guess.

roujin

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32178 on: June 08, 2010, 12:14:00 AM »
No, it's not, but it was so languid and not really about much of anything in my opinion.  I just didn't find it very interesting.

Well, regardless, it's a very beautiful film. Check it out, clovis!

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mañana

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32179 on: June 08, 2010, 12:19:54 AM »
That trailer has an Errol Morris vibe.
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