Author Topic: Respond to the last movie you watched  (Read 683924 times)

MartinTeller

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4260 on: February 21, 2020, 10:28:19 AM »
His touch is too light here as if he has a drama phobia.

I don't understand this complaint. The film is not a drama. Does Billy Wilder have a "drama phobia"? Mel Brooks? Edgar Wright?

1SO

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4261 on: February 21, 2020, 11:53:21 AM »
I wasn't meaning "drama" as in the opposite of comedy, but the more general meaning. (cut/paste from dictionary) "an exciting, emotional, or unexpected series of events or set of circumstances." I underlined three things I found (not completely absent but) sorely lacking in this film.

Eric/E.T.

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4262 on: February 21, 2020, 07:41:41 PM »
There needs to be a larger conversation about depictions of sex in movies, because for decades you couldn't show it in any form and I can't think of a single film that lacks because of it. I doubt I could come up with five titles where a depiction of sex is necessary to the movie. For so long it was an excuse to display/exploit female bodies, and it seems in gay culture they see it as an opportunity for equal representation of the kind of sex that they enjoy.

This is something that also came up for me last night when I watched 120 BPM, which actually does get emotional drama out of depictions of sex between two men.

It's an interesting take, one that has me thinking. I think it is important for LGBTQA+ films to have that freedom to depict the sexual act and use it in service of the themes of the story, so I think it can definitely be a strength. I think of Jose, and then I go back and think of Brokeback Mountain, a more formative film for me that also served as a point of bonding between my father, who had recently come out of the closet, and I. It had to go there, imo, to push the normalization of gay sex in the mainstream. In regards to heterosexual sex, my mind goes to Lady Bird, A History of Violence, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall as films where sex scenes serve the story well, for very different reasons. Thinking of films that would be strengthened by it is tough, because there is a difficulty pinpointing when, for art's sake, it's fruitful to go beyond insinuation and innuendo without fully delving into erotica. I won't go further because I feel I'm starting to get off topic for the thread, but this really could be a broader conversation.
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Eric/E.T.

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4263 on: February 21, 2020, 11:11:31 PM »
Breathless

Ask me more about it after 5 more Godards, 20 more French New Waves, and 50 essays on the French New Wave.

Watched it, watched a 12-minute video essay in the extras on how Breathless is a film that's also a work of film criticism, and came out intrigued.
A witty saying proves nothing. - Voltaire

pixote

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4264 on: February 22, 2020, 02:26:09 AM »
Waves - Nice mood and soundtrack but otherwise felt pretty half-baked to me. The b-roll was better than the story footage. I don’t need to see another camera-swirling-inside-a-car shot for a long time now. Excited to see more from Taylor Russell, though. She’s got a strong presence.
Grade: C+

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FLYmeatwad

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4265 on: February 22, 2020, 03:56:52 PM »
There needs to be a larger conversation about depictions of sex in movies, because for decades you couldn't show it in any form and I can't think of a single film that lacks because of it. I doubt I could come up with five titles where a depiction of sex is necessary to the movie. For so long it was an excuse to display/exploit female bodies, and it seems in gay culture they see it as an opportunity for equal representation of the kind of sex that they enjoy.

This is something that also came up for me last night when I watched 120 BPM, which actually does get emotional drama out of depictions of sex between two men.

The sex scene in Midsommar definitely adds to the experience. Also think the sex scenes in My Own Private Idaho add to the artistry of that film, certainly on a visual level.

Bondo

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4266 on: February 22, 2020, 05:22:43 PM »
Shortbus. That’s it. That’s the tweet.

In other word sexuality in films is great. If I wasn’t typing on my phone I could cite countless examples where more was more.

Teproc

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4267 on: February 22, 2020, 06:26:45 PM »
I mean, there are really countless examples, I find this thought really strange. Sex is a major part of existence, it would be incredibly strange if film never used it to good effect.
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Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4268 on: February 22, 2020, 09:07:47 PM »
I'm probably one of the more conservative members of the board and I can certainly think of some examples, mostly when sex is used less to be titillating and more for intimacy/drama/horror given the desired effect. The films of Kieslowski, Eyes Wide Shut, and Under the Skin come to mind as examples of each.

Eric/E.T.

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4269 on: February 22, 2020, 11:13:28 PM »
I mean, there are really countless examples, I find this thought really strange. Sex is a major part of existence, it would be incredibly strange if film never used it to good effect.

I think it's how sex has been used that's the problem, not that it's used at all. To use it to exploit the female body to attract eyeballs is one thing, but I think as society changes, its use has become more thoughtful.

I saw two films at the theater today.

The Traitor
A good organized crime/true crime film as seen through the perspective of a potentially unreliable boss (or mere soldier) Tommaso Buscetta, who flips and turns witness for the state against La Cosa Nostra. Essentially, I think the acting and some of the court drama is good, but it gets a little tiresome and carries some pretty standard wise guy tropes (mythologizing asshole criminals, irreverent wise guy humor) and it never really challenges you. It's fun, and yet nothing special. It's fine.

The Assistant
It's funny, if I were to award stars to films - way too big of a commitment for me - I'd have bumped this up a star just for the reaction of the old men in the audience after. Just for some good context: Where I see a lot of the "art" or "independent" films where I'm at, I travel to one of the older theaters in the Harkins chain where a lot of elderly people, who usually have a bit of money, go, especially on a Saturday morning or early afternoon. I'm accustomed to some murmuring in this theater because it seems a lot of people don't know what they are getting into when they come to see some of these films, but the turnout is generally good. This particular theater had a good 50+ to see The Assistant, and at the end, you heard the following, in angry old men voices:
I don't get it!
What was that even about?
That stunk!
And I'm just like, yeah, you old lecherous dudes with good retirement savings, that was YOU!
Doesn't mean I thought the film was great, but it was very good. I had a hard time buying the setting. That's a pretty drab office for a successful film executive. I used to tag along with my dad to his very middling, very unexciting business office when I was little, in the early 90's, and it kicked this office's ass like ten times over. I didn't buy that Jane "messed up" multiple times, including going to HR on this patently awful exec, and lasted the day. She witnessed a lot of messed up stuff, but then you hear the HR director spit back at her the nature of her accusations, and you know that doesn't end up well for her. Now, I love all the little clues, the creation of a toxic work environment led by an exec that is clearly - but not clearly enough? - abusing his power in return for much sexual gratification. It's timely, it's apt, and the screenplay, with all the little slights and abuses, makes for a well-paced and intriguing film. Having the exec behind the curtain, only hearing his voice occasionally on the phone, makes him seem all the more monstrous, and beyond that it's a good artistic touch that keeps the film from seeming too heavy handed. And Julia Garner is excellent, totally believable, trying to keep her poker face though you know she's dying a thousand deaths inside. I'm glad they gave her the moment with her father on the phone to fill out her character and take her beyond "abused assistant", too. I'd say this is the first film of the year I really think is worthy of a lot of discussion.
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