Author Topic: Respond to the last movie you watched (2013-2016)  (Read 973505 times)

chardy999

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #5200 on: June 04, 2015, 08:24:25 AM »
Over the years I probably didn't catch more than half a dozen episodes of Entourage and could never get into it. Saw the movie tonight and it was awesome. Very entertaining and very funny. I can only imagine how much fans of the show will like it.
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Corndog

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #5201 on: June 04, 2015, 09:48:07 AM »
Iris (Albert Maysles, 2015)

When I wake up in the morning, I jump in the shower, put in my contact lenses, shave, and get dressed. When I pick out my clothes, I often default to the same old same old. For me, having an office job, that means a polo and some slacks. Not very creative. I run downstairs, eat my breakfast, and slip on my shoes. Shoes, now there is where I have a chance to make a statement! I admit to having a few more pairs than I used to (living with someone who worked for a shoe company for 7 years will do that to you), so my choices here are a little more colorful than the “uniform” I put on upstairs. My weekends are often spent in t-shirts of my favorite sports teams or musical acts, paired with jeans or shorts of some kind. What I’m trying to say is I don’t make a statement when I dress. I’m sure my “fashion” goes mostly unnoticed throughout the day.

Iris Apfel, on the other hand, is not someone that goes unnoticed. A New York fashion staple, the 93 year old is perhaps as iconic as her signature oversized, round spectacles, being involved in some form or fashion in the industry for the past 65 years. From the film, we learn that she and her husband Carl, an 100 year old who is probably just as fascinating and interesting as his wife, have been involved in textile production, including interior design and stints in the White House restoring fabrics. Through the years, she has amassed a staggering amount of clothes and accessories (accessories are Iris’ favorite), filling apartments and warehouse spaces in New York and Florida. From this we may perceive Iris to be materialistic at the surface, but her charity and spirit quickly tell us differently.

When the film began, I saw Iris as this eccentric fashion “maven” who wore outlandish things for the attention of onlookers and fashionistas. However, under the warm care of Albert Maysles, the film plods along in the most casual of ways, letting the viewer into the realm of Iris to sit down and spend some time with this crazy old lady. And as that happens, I found myself warming up to Iris and her witty, care-free attitude both towards life and fashion. Fashion couldn’t hold my interest for that long, it’s just not something I call an interest. To me, the line between fashion maverick and fashion faux-pas is non-existent. I can never tell if that crazy thing she’s wearing is great or trash, essentially. It just looks crazy to me. But slowly, throughout the film, I learned to somehow adapt a certain level of appreciation for Iris and her fashion sense.

Part of that appreciation can be attributed to the style of Maysles, and his ability to create a Sunday afternoon setting, conversing casually with Iris and Carl, having Iris show off her most prized trinkets and outfits as we find out what they mean to her, why she loves them so dearly. Iris says at one point that the possessions we have in this life are never owned; we never actually own anything. All that we collect or buy in our lifetime is merely rented. This philosophy seems to be at the heart of her charity, lending her pieces to museums and sharing her time and lifetime of knowledge with eager design students. What we see in this film is an old woman who loves her life and loves living it, but perhaps more importantly she loves sharing it with others, especially Carl.

The relationship between Iris and Carl can be compared to a comedic duo. Those two could sit there talking about just about anything and it would be enjoyable. At the end of their lives, and knowing it, is no reason to slow down, especially not for Iris, who is constantly on the phone and on the move. For a non-fashionista like myself, the charm of this film is not in the material, the garments or accessories on such proud display by Iris Apfel. No, the charm of this film is Iris herself, reveling in her wonderful life and her wonderful taste, and fully embracing who she was is and forever will be, herself. A character like Iris Apfel, and I mean character, is perfectly suited for the profile style documentary on perfect display here as the final film from the late, great Albert Maysles.

***1/2 - Great
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pixote

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #5202 on: June 04, 2015, 12:03:37 PM »
Curious to see if you FYC it in more categories than just Documentary.

pixote
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Jeff Schroeck

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #5203 on: June 04, 2015, 12:27:02 PM »
Aside from maybe two funny sequences, Bad Words didn't really have anything interesting going for it. In fact, the most interesting thing having to do with it was that a certain absurdly long and difficult word that Jason Bateman's character spells correctly is coincidentally the Word Of The Day on my phone's dictionary app.

Junior

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #5204 on: June 04, 2015, 12:32:11 PM »
Heh, I liked it a bit more than that, but it's just a little movie with some funny bits. That's neither a good nor a bad thing.
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Jeff Schroeck

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #5205 on: June 04, 2015, 12:36:49 PM »
Yeah, it seemed like some bits smushed together without focus. I didn't hate it. Its right below the don't/like line for me. It wanted to be edgier than it was.

Corndog

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #5206 on: June 04, 2015, 12:45:21 PM »
Curious to see if you FYC it in more categories than just Documentary.

pixote

I considered editing. None of the scenes by themselves jumped out at me in particular. That'd really be the only other area I would think about.
"Time is the speed at which the past decays."

Sandy

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #5207 on: June 04, 2015, 04:21:54 PM »
Three Coins in the Fountain



Three Landscapes of Love

Heart and Soul: A glance, a touch, or a voice, is all it takes and watch the sparks fly. These two want to be together, must be together, but how to do it? If part of themselves is in each other, love will find a way.

When Opposites Attract: Take one naive sheltered young woman and one man of the world and see where it takes them. Throw in a conveyance of behavior, where the player becomes the played and watch the whole thing deteriorate. But, if they can come together as their best selves, perhaps, if they are lucky, they'll teach each other and then they will evolve together.

Sit With Me A While: Must borrow a line from Persuasion to help me with this one. "“There could have never been two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison, no countenances so beloved." This one is a slow burn, built up with countless conversations, reading and writing together, and learning each other along the way. What started in their compatible minds, has sunk deep into their hearts.

Observing these different relationships, I can't help but ask, which one is better? I don't like to say, because I believe a combination of the three is a much better answer! Call me something from each: a romantic, naive, or sentimental, but I'm sticking to my answer! :)


Even with all this exploring, my favorite part of the movie is the beginning song, of course.

Three Coins In The Fountain


Bondo

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #5208 on: June 05, 2015, 01:32:12 AM »
The Strange Little Cat (2013)

Every year there is at least one film, embraced critically and among a certain very serious set of cinephiles, that upon watching it makes me feel like I've been punked. Usually they are those that tend toward the surreal or non-narrative. I feel like The Strange Little Cat fills that role this year. There was one scene early that kind of clued me in that something wasn't quite right. The titular cat has jumped on the table and is pushed to get it down. In the process a glass is knocked over and slowly rolls to the edge of the table, falling. Now, normal people would have reacted in an effort to stop it, but here all those nearby sit stock-still. And naturally, the girl picking up the broken pieces cuts herself, but not in a way that causes any real pain or concern. Such is the manner of these characters who never really act or interact in a natural way.

Okay you say, it isn't a film that strives toward naturalism, and that can be fine, but in abandoning naturalism I feel like it must pass a more stringent test of purpose, to make me grasp what these deviations are serving in expressing the film. This is a test that something like Dogtooth passes, but this one offers very little defense. The only clear standout are the impossibly big, black eyes of the younger daughter.

D

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #5209 on: June 05, 2015, 08:35:35 AM »
Every year there is at least one film, embraced critically and among a certain very serious set of cinephiles, that upon watching it makes me feel like I've been punked. Usually they are those that tend toward the surreal or non-narrative.

I've felt this way before. It is not a nice feeling. And I have to say, I think Dogtooth was one of the instances.

Observing these different relationships, I can't help but ask, which one is better? I don't like to say, because I believe a combination of the three is a much better answer! Call me something from each: a romantic, naive, or sentimental, but I'm sticking to my answer! :)

Someone wants to have her cake and eat it too.

I don't know that those three are not incompatible but that is okay. A relationship doesn't have to be every way to be perfect and there is no hierarchy between those three paradigms. We must merely be thankful for what we get ; had it been otherwise it would had been different, not better.
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