Author Topic: Write about the last movie you watched (2006-2010)  (Read 5996093 times)

1SO

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32310 on: June 10, 2010, 02:41:50 AM »
The Woodsman

Another marathon pick, and this time I liked it.

flieger

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32311 on: June 10, 2010, 03:53:26 AM »

The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
Never have I seen landscape and psychology so masterfully portrayed, where John Ford's beloved Monument Valley becomes a sort of interior landscape for Ethan's (John Wayne) obsessive quest and his internal demons. Framed against the doorway, the camera safe in the darkness of family and domesticity, Ethan is part of this landscape: stubborn, wild, untamed, unapproachable and deadly. The brilliant, ferocious performance by Wayne (the look on his face as he sees the burning homestead, and as he flings the cover off of his rifle) is laced with ambivalence and ambiguity, perfectly reflecting Ford's direction away from the old certainties of his West, and his grappling with the complexities of race, identity, failure and masculinity. The quest strips bare Ethan's true nature, his monstrousness, his hatred, his obsession with purity and boundaries. And then, the final scenes, where redemption, love and mercy glimmers, then he turns his back, and the door shuts. Wonderful.

Dave the Necrobumper

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32312 on: June 10, 2010, 04:24:55 AM »

Animal Kingdom - David Michod, 2010[/center]

After the gorgeous opening credits, which were highly derided by the others I saw the film with, a voiceover attempts to explain some of the family dynamics. The history of crime, the attempt to live apart, the fear of retribution that permeates that lifestyle. It’s a little unsubtle, and sticks out as a problem in a film that is far more subtle than I expected going in.


FCM great review, but not all of the others derided the opening.

flieger

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32313 on: June 10, 2010, 04:57:46 AM »

High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952)
We have a middle-aged Gary Cooper as the town's marshall, marrying Grace Kelly, the world's hottest Quaker. Some bad men waiting for the noon train so their recently pardoned bad-boss can get him some revenge. This is a film with a delimited timeline and a narrative fraught with allegory. Essentially a chamber piece shot in not-widescreen, the narrative uncovers the hidden tensions of the town. The complacency of the bourgeoisie, the resentment of the slothful and beneficiaries of sin, and the endless chattering of those who should know better. Written by Carl Foreman, who was kicked off the production by producer Stanley Kramer for fear of HUAC reprisals, the ending has the same bitter aftertaste for the hero as The Seven Samurai.  The townsfolk survive, and will thrive, but it's a sour experience and lesson learnt for the marshall. Good film, but the middlebrow-ity of Kramer and Zinnemann smother any edge or excitement (final shootout aside) for the virtues of sobriety and allegory. Geddit?

flieger

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32314 on: June 10, 2010, 05:13:22 AM »

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (Joseph Sargent, 1974)
Remarkably straight thriller, where the potential for cliche (such as the cross-section of the hostages) is neatly avoided by the nice sense of location - good old messy, shambolic 1970s New York - and the performances of Matthau and Shaw. The story is formulaic, sure, but it's carried off with a leanness that I imagine would have evaded Tony Scott or John Travolta. Not surprising, given that 70s cinema > 00s cinema.

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32315 on: June 10, 2010, 05:18:55 AM »


Splice:

Laugh out loud silly.


The film is more of black comedy than a horror movie, and I think whatever humor is clearly intentional. The ending is a little rushed though.
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Tequila

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32316 on: June 10, 2010, 05:55:43 AM »
Is every film a comedy for you?
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zarodinu

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32317 on: June 10, 2010, 06:29:18 AM »

The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)

Wonderful.

Glad you liked it as much as you did Flieger.  It is a great film, you should watch The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence as well.  Long live the Duke.
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smirnoff

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32318 on: June 10, 2010, 07:38:59 AM »
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (Joseph Sargent, 1974)
Remarkably straight thriller, where the potential for cliche (such as the cross-section of the hostages) is neatly avoided by the nice sense of location - good old messy, shambolic 1970s New York - and the performances of Matthau and Shaw. The story is formulaic, sure, but it's carried off with a leanness that I imagine would have evaded Tony Scott or John Travolta. Not surprising, given that 70s cinema > 00s cinema.
And how 'bout that ending :)

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #32319 on: June 10, 2010, 10:53:40 AM »
#158.
Get Him to the Greek (Nicholas Stoller, 2010)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall was a spectacular comedy that had such moments of greatness. Now Get Him to the Greek take my favorite character, Aldous Snow, and gives him his own movie. And it perfectly personifies what I loved so much about that character, plus goes to places I never suspected, in the best of ways. The main concept of the film is that Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), legendary rock star lead singer of Infant Sorrow, is now in a tail spin. He is now off the wagon, when in Sarah Marshall he was on it, and is releases music that rivals famine and war as one of Africa's problems. At the same time, the recession is killing the record business and Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) is just a lowly cubical worker for exec/producer Sergio (Sean Combs). When Aaron's brilliant idea of an anniversary concert of Aldous Snow Live at the Greek gets accepted, he is responsible for bringing the star from his home in London to the show in Los Angeles. From there, the journey begins and in the words of Miley Cyrus, "Ain't about how fast I get there/Ain't about what's waiting on the other side/It's the climb."

The film, as a comedy, is not about the end result and the concert in Los Angeles, it is all about the madness that happens on the way there. What was surprising to me, however, was that what I liked best about this movie was the little things. Oftentimes comedies like this are outrageous and big laughs, but my experience was different this time. There were still the major gags that were funny, though not overly so, but all of the smaller, one-liners, the jokes told under the breath or just following a bigger gag, those were the ones I enjoyed most and had my stomach hurting. The film got all the small things right. Like the relationship between Aaron and his girlfriend Daphne, the relationship between Aaron and Aldous, the relationship between Aldous and his ex Jackie Q as well as his father. They all seemed and felt right to me. And the filmmakers added just enough personality as to not make these relationships too shallow or too deep.

But what really struck me in this film was the performance by Russell Brand. The man is undeniably hilarious and his madness is great here, but I am here to say that it was a legitimately great performance, worthy of recognition. And surprisingly enough it was his subtle delivery of emotion that hit me hardest. There were multiple times when my heart just broke for the guy. He plays a mad, drunken rock star, but for some reason I could not help but feel for him and feel sorry for him. It is his, and Aaron's, journey to the Greek that brings perspective into both of their lives and this clear emotional message inside this movie filled with ridiculous, crass comedy comes as a shock, but is pulled off to perfection by writer/director Nicholas Stoller. Forgetting Sarah Marshall may or may not have been funnier, but Get Him to the Greek succeeds as a great film on its own.  Add it to Sarah Marshall and Stoller is on a pretty good run, especially considering he wrote Yes Man too.

***1/2

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