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Author Topic: Respond to the last movie you watched  (Read 684400 times)

Bondo

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #1930 on: January 23, 2018, 09:50:28 PM »
Marjorie Prime (2017)

Arguably this is what Black Mirror needs more of. Yeah, I guess Black Mirror strives to make the point about the dark side of technology, not just about technology, but maybe that is a limitation that is holding it back. Our first introduction to technology here is Walter Prime (Jon Hamm), some form of AI representation of her husband used to keep Marjorie (Lois Smith) company as she ails with dementia. As a contemplation of AI and how it can fit into our lives, it is somewhere between the Black Mirror episode Be Right Back and Spielberg's A.I., contemplating the possibilities and limitations in using something artificial to try to offset loss.

In the case of Marjorie Prime, I do feel it goes on a bit long and has a theatrical inertness betraying its stage play origin. I don't know, maybe that's why Black Mirror has to go dark or at least twisty all the time. To just experience technology risks being too staid. In this case for all its qualities, it sells its ideas short.

B-

Bondo

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #1931 on: January 24, 2018, 08:48:59 PM »
For tonight I found out that The Florida Project is still playing on one screen here so that will be my priority.
Wow, am I excited to read about this. I could see this going a number of ways. Most interested to get your reaction to Bria Vinaite.

There are moments in The Florida Project where Halley (Bria Vinaite), assisted by her daughter Moonee (Brooklyn Prince), hawks perfume, and it momentarily made me think of American Honey's roving band of magazine salespeople. While this film is certainly in line with Sean Baker's prior effort Tangerine, as the film went on it made me realize how much his style is conversant with Andrea Arnold's that hooked me so deeply with Fish Tank and Red Road. With these two films, Sean Baker has launched himself into a similar stratosphere.

When a movie strikes you as great, chances are there are personal reasons for that and that is certainly true here. The application of economic logic to romance is frowned upon post-Austen, but as someone who longs to have a family, I see Halley and Moonee and feel like my economic stability would be a salve to their issues and their presence a salve to mine. Halley has clear impulse control issues, but I think the film, and the performance, do a good job of bringing a likable character through it. She might put her daughter in a certain danger by letting her roam free, among other things, but it is clear she loves her daughter with all her heart and is really trying for her. And you have to appreciate the resilience of both of them. I think this is why Bobby (Willem Dafoe) is so tolerant to her outbursts. You want to give them every chance at turning things around. But I'm not sure Halley would take such an offer were it made. Love is frequently illogical, and maybe that's for the best, even if it makes things more chaotic.

The film isn't heavily plot-driven, though it does drift to its ultimate destination that is thematically rich. But more it is just such a fine character study. I fell in love with the characters and I fell in love with the film.

A+

1SO

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #1932 on: January 24, 2018, 09:39:37 PM »
The Florida Project is a film I'm liking more the more distance I have from viewing it. I'm not drawn to kids in films, especially when they're being little monsters. This is why the opening made me think I wasn't going to like the film at all. I found myself drawn to the grown ups, both saintly (Dafoe) and equally troubled (Vinaite), and I really dug the texture of the film. This is something Sean Baker brings that also made me think of Andrea Arnold. He's working in a world the opposite coast from Tangerine, yet again his ability to capture the culture is so complete, it's like he was raised in this world.


I thought this was one of the more exciting years of nominations. Freshness and vigor. But then my top three movies are Get Out, The Shape of Water and Lady Bird.
I guess you now have an exclusion to gripe about.

Eric/E.T.

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #1933 on: January 24, 2018, 10:26:35 PM »

There are moments in The Florida Project where Halley (Bria Vinaite), assisted by her daughter Moonee (Brooklyn Prince), hawks perfume, and it momentarily made me think of American Honey's roving band of magazine salespeople. While this film is certainly in line with Sean Baker's prior effort Tangerine, as the film went on it made me realize how much his style is conversant with Andrea Arnold's that hooked me so deeply with Fish Tank and Red Road. With these two films, Sean Baker has launched himself into a similar stratosphere.


If possible, could you briefly elaborate on the work of Andrea Arnold?  I don't have nearly the reference points you do (blind spots galore!), but I love "The Florida Project" in a way I haven't loved a film in quite a while (no hyperbole), so I'm interested in anything that might be in the same realm.
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FLYmeatwad

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #1934 on: January 24, 2018, 10:32:27 PM »

There are moments in The Florida Project where Halley (Bria Vinaite), assisted by her daughter Moonee (Brooklyn Prince), hawks perfume, and it momentarily made me think of American Honey's roving band of magazine salespeople. While this film is certainly in line with Sean Baker's prior effort Tangerine, as the film went on it made me realize how much his style is conversant with Andrea Arnold's that hooked me so deeply with Fish Tank and Red Road. With these two films, Sean Baker has launched himself into a similar stratosphere.


If possible, could you briefly elaborate on the work of Andrea Arnold?  I don't have nearly the reference points you do (blind spots galore!), but I love "The Florida Project" in a way I haven't loved a film in quite a while (no hyperbole), so I'm interested in anything that might be in the same realm.

You should watch Chop Shop or George Washington if you haven't seen them. Bondo will have to discuss the Arnold similarities though, I think I've only seen Fish Tank and will check out that Shia one at some point.

Bondo

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #1935 on: January 24, 2018, 11:03:05 PM »
Well, the two that would immediately jump to mind are Wasp, her Academy-Award winning short film, and Fish Tank. Both involve young mothers who walk a line of neglect of their children in pursuit of their own desires that were truncated by parental responsibility. Fish Tank is much more firmly positioned in the daughter's perspective than The Florida Project even, and obviously one of the things that captivated me about The Florida Project is she is much less burdened by being a parent, even as she has the similar risk of neglect due to being on the outs of society. These along with American Honey all focus on this economic periphery.

Red Road doesn't have the same economic setting (or family setting) but is gritty with verite styling (it mostly follows Dogme 95 rules and was produced by von Trier's company IIRC). This was her first film and though she hasn't stuck to Dogme, certain aspects of the aesthetic and values carry on throughout her work. Wuthering Heights is arguably an outlier being a period piece and literary but she still brings a sense of grime to the whole thing. It's no masterpiece theatre joint.

Sandy

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #1936 on: January 25, 2018, 02:27:48 AM »
Lady Bird (2017, Greta Gerwig)   -   4/10

Not my style. It exists in a weird middle ground where it's not quite funny and not quite emotional. I had the same reaction to it as Noah Baumbach's Mistress America, Whit Stillman's Metropolitan and Hal Hartly's Trust. Lotta rambling. Lotta confident quirk.

You could push it left and it would be Napoleon Dynamite and I would laugh. You could push it right and it would be a Mike Leigh film and I would cry. Or you could do neither and put me to sleep. I get what the film is. I don't get what people enjoy about it.

Well said! I enjoyed it enough at the time, but I can hardly remember anything about it now. Didn't have much staying power for me.

Quote
The Shape of Water (2017, Guillermo del Toro)   4/10

Somehow watching a movie about a mute woman who had underwater sex with an aqua-monster my reaction was, "I wish it had been weirder".

I was initially pretty excited with the film and how it dove in the deep end and didn't come up for air. I thought "great, we're skipping all the boring parts where the protagonist takes 400 years to figure out what we already know". The film goes hard and fast and it had me completely at a loss for where things might be headed. And then it didn't. It hit the breaks and became just another love story.

It had me and lost me.

I'm not in disagreement, as much as I am in confusion. As I was watching this a few days ago, I couldn't figure out where it could possibly go, except for where it went... Except for the end, which baffles me a little. Did he breathe into her an aqua lung? :)

Please, I would love to know how it could have been weirder and what direction you would have liked for this to go. I'm super curious, since I couldn't come up with anything on my own.

I too so appreciated that the story didn't get bogged down in "waiting for the protagonist to get up to speed." What did you think of the acting? Sally Hawkins has been someone who's work you've liked before and what did you think of Richard Jenkins?  He's such a great supporting actor and I was really happy to see him get a chance to shine here.
« Last Edit: January 25, 2018, 09:38:16 PM by Sandy »

DarkeningHumour

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #1937 on: January 25, 2018, 09:00:34 AM »
I found this review of The Greatest Show on Letterboxd:

Quote from: Some woman called Sandy?
"Spectacular, spectacular. No words in the vernacular." -- Moulin Rouge!


A song by song reaction:

"The Greatest Show"
You had me at the syncopated prancing horses entrance, stage right. Actually, you had me at the behind the bleachers silhouette start off point. But, those horses! All counterpoint and percussion! This is slick, bold and camera choreographed to the hilt. The visuals along with the aural hit full force and though the film may be called The Greatest Showman, this song is The Greatest Salesman as it pulls out all the stops, demanding to be acknowledged, "Just surrender 'cause you feel the feeling taking over. It's fire, it's freedom, it's flooding open..." Visceral and full of good will.

Love the reverse of The Phantom of the Opera's opening transformation, but instead of a whole series of organ scales, it's accomplished in the span of a downbeat. The space is suddenly quiet and empty, as Barnum surveys what is and what will be.

"A Million Dreams"
Wee! Child to adult shift through song! I get a chill up my spine when Jackman's voice takes over expressing the dream of his younger self. "Every night I lie in bed, the brightest colors fill my head. A million dreams are keeping me awake." Then Williams joins in... Screeching halt! Williams is beautiful and lovely and sweet, but her character is as interesting as a painting on a wall. More on her later. Back to the song... So happy with the vocals and the dancing! Real honest to goodness, difficult to execute dancing! :) (Yeah, I'm talking to you la la land.)

"Come Alive"
Nice sister song to "The Greatest Show," and it picks up where "A Million Dreams" leaves off. From "I close my eyes and I can see," to "You're dreaming with your eyes wide open." Putting together the show with people from the fringes becomes the ultimate pep talk. "And we know we can't be go back again to the world that we were living in!"

"The Other Side"
Ugh. Can't abide this song. It's back to High School Musical with it's staccato verses then sweepy chorus rhythms and overly complicated execution coupled with a simplified message. "But I live among the swells, and we don't pick up peanut shells." Really? Okay. Hard Pass.

"Never Enough"
The best and worst an ear worm song can offer. I love it now. I'm going to hate it soon. Oh well, it can't be helped.

"This Is Me"
Overheard from a YouTube clip, "After the election night of 2016, the movie subtly shifted. It started out as a movie about the power of imagination and will and never give up on your dreams, but it grew into a deeper idea that what makes you different, makes you special. The director Gracie also noted that it's an incredible privilege to make a film about inclusivity and acceptance."

This is the song that evolved from the shift of focus in the film and it's everything a showstopper song with a message should be. "I'm not scared to be seen. I make no apologies, this is me."

"Rewrite The Stars"
Visually wowing, but the song is nothing special and it feels like filler. Wished for more, but it's serviceable, even if it's like Troy is singing again.

"Tightrope"
I get that using a careful waltz for a song entitled "Tightrope" makes a lot of sense, but man I wish this was a torch song in a big way. Williams' character really needed a "spill your guts" song, but this comes off as a sigh and a weak resignation. Also, the Oxford English Dictionary has 171,476 words in it. Please Benj and Justin, just pick a few of them to fill in the gaps in this song. There is no excuse for lyrics like,

Walking a tightrope
With you, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
With you, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
With you
With you, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
With you, ooh, ooh, ooh
With you

As you can see, I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with the lyricists' choices. These men have flashes of brilliance and will continue to grow and become even more talented. Looking forward to seeing more of what they can do.


"From Now On"
My favorite song from the show. A word here about Hugh Jackman. There's been some discussion about triple threats and Mr. Jackman fits it to a T. He is the greatest showman right now, as far as I'm concerned. He carried this film and elevated the cast and director with his intense work ethic and enthusiasm. This might be a strong statement, but they would be the first to attest to it. This clip is something else! As moving as anything in the film.

www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=PluaPvhkIMU

Even though it's a little too slick and Barnum the Musical is probably closer to the real story, this project is a labor of love and I'm going to really enjoy owning it.

We should recruit this person to post on here.

I second most things in this review btw. Especially the part about Jackman. But not the La La Land comment. Shame on you, person, whoever you are.
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DarkeningHumour

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #1939 on: January 25, 2018, 09:18:40 AM »
Dang, I don't really follow that thread. I think I shall now.
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