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Poll

What should this month's theme be?

Movies about movies
1 (8.3%)
Silent Films
5 (41.7%)
Retrospots
6 (50%)
Best Picture Winners
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 12

Voting closed: April 02, 2012, 08:49:50 PM

Author Topic: April 2012 MDC: Retrospots!  (Read 13101 times)

mousterpiece

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Re: April 2012 MDC: Retrospots!
« Reply #60 on: April 28, 2012, 04:43:02 PM »
Here's the right thread...

Funny Face

Though this movie has a few strong features--its visual style is striking enough for a 100-minute musical--I am unable to get over the fact that a) the two romantic leads have a 30-year gap in age and b) the movie asks me to buy into the idea that Audrey Hepburn could ever be less than incredibly beautiful. I know, regarding the latter, that this is a problem plaguing a lot of romantic comedies (we could qualify this specifically as a problem I need to ignore, but I so wish studio execs would stop assuming female romantic leads need to be thought of or assume themselves to be undesirable). But the story didn't engage me much. If anything, it felt like a Hollywood response to the trend of beatniks in Greenwich Village who learn that being dressed up all nice and fancy is what they really want. The music and dances were fine, though unremarkable (except for the Hepburn dance that was, I guess, immortalized in those Gap ads a few years back). I love musicals as a genre, but this was a fairly flaccid entry.

2/4
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oldkid

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Re: April 2012 MDC: Retrospots!
« Reply #61 on: April 28, 2012, 05:02:00 PM »
I'm sorry mousterpiece, but you won't be receiving your Funny Face Cabal membership card.  Better luck next time.

I didn't have the problems you had.  I was charmed all the way through.  The 30 year gap between the two co-stars was obvious and I thought it was played well. 
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

oldkid

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Re: April 2012 MDC: Retrospots!
« Reply #62 on: May 03, 2012, 12:49:44 AM »
The Cranes are Flying


Truly, the cinematography was stunning.  And Tatyana Samojlova is both beautiful and an excellent lead actress.  But the plot left me cold.  They were projecting the next plot point ahead of time.  Heck, I could see how it was going to end from the very first minute... well, not really, but I guessed.  If not for the stunning beauty of the camerawork (glistening eyes!) I would have been bored.  3/5
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KasperL

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Re: April 2012 MDC: Retrospots!
« Reply #63 on: May 05, 2012, 06:42:07 AM »
Kanal

Features some amazing shots. In an impressive one-take opening, Wajda introduces us to each of the main characters and lets us know that they're about to die. A perfect way to set up the film. Another powerful moment is the horror facing the first character to exit the sewers. Some of the best scenes involve the striking-looking (almost-)couple Daisy and Jacek.

Now, on to the flaws: There's a distancing staginess to the acting, and some of the plot turns are less than believable. I was particularly underwhelmed by the ending.

Out of six stars: ****

sdedalus

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Re: April 2012 MDC: Retrospots!
« Reply #64 on: May 05, 2012, 12:23:38 PM »
Huh.  I thought the ending was the best part.
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KasperL

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Re: April 2012 MDC: Retrospots!
« Reply #65 on: May 06, 2012, 03:29:28 AM »
I was particularly underwhelmed by the ending.
Huh.  I thought the ending was the best part.
There be spoilers ahead:
[...]
In a film so relentlessly hopeless, the Lieutenant's final act, descending again into hell to try to rescue his men, is miraculous.  He knows they're doomed, he knows he's doomed.  But he does it anyway.  It's as pure an act of heroism as you'll ever see in a film, done with resignation and horror.

I think it was the abruptness of it. Knowing beforehand that the ending is generally considered great, I guess I expected something else... But I like your take on it.