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Author Topic: 1980s US Bracket: Verdicts  (Read 395895 times)

Dave the Necrobumper

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Re: 1980s US Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #510 on: June 26, 2010, 01:46:48 AM »
Any verdict that rids us of Ivan Reitman films is a good verdict.
First Nolan, now Reitman, get thee to a nunnery.

Corndog

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Re: 1980s US Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #511 on: June 26, 2010, 09:49:13 AM »
Stripes is a funny movie.
"Time is the speed at which the past decays."

GothamCity151

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Re: 1980s US Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #512 on: June 26, 2010, 04:44:36 PM »
Vernon, Florida vs. The Thin Red Line


Vernon, Florida



What exactly did I just watch? I have no idea what this is supposed to be. It is a bunch of old people talking “cooky-talk”. That’s it. It was as if I was with my relatives telling me long, boring stories that have no relevance to anything. I am so befuddled. What was the point of this documentary? It just felt like a collection of scenes compiled together of rambling about anything that came to the persons head. I did not learn anything interesting. Is this just some practical joke that Errol Morris is playing on us that some have mistaken as a profound masterpiece? I’ll stick with the practical joke theory. I think I need to end this review with the only response I find appropriate: ...........huh?



The Big Red One



This feels like one of the most authentic war films I have seen. It shows that the writer and director is writing from his own personal experiences from his time in World War II. The battles scenes are gritty and feel very real. Lee Marvin is SPECTACULAR as The Sergeant. He is a veteran tough guy and it shows. The supporting cast is strong with Mark Hamill, who does his best, and Robert Carradine. The personalities of the soldiers seem very realistic to what an actual soldier would be like. They get that people come over to fight and die. They understand that, and they seem to shrug it off. In war, I am assuming that would be something you have to become accustomed to do. You can tell Fuller has tapped into the mind of a soldier and knows exactly how they behave, because he once had to do the same thing. This is a war film that has been very overlooked by more commercial WWII flicks, like Saving Private Ryan, to which I feel The Big Red One is superior. I really enjoyed this film.

Winner And Advancement To Next Round: The Big Red One


I find it interesting how both of these films have appeared in previous Filmspotting marathons.

Bill Thompson

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Re: 1980s US Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #513 on: June 26, 2010, 04:51:59 PM »
Wow, I'm the opposite I found The Big Red One to far too commercial and lifeless, as well as boring, when compared to something like SPR that is much more personal and full of life.

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: 1980s US Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #514 on: June 26, 2010, 05:21:04 PM »
Vernon, Florida vs. The Thin Red Line
???

oneaprilday

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Re: 1980s US Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #515 on: June 26, 2010, 05:27:23 PM »
I haven't seen The Big Red One, but I wished Vernon, Florida had done more for you. I think it's strange and kind of great.

Bondo

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Re: 1980s US Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #516 on: June 26, 2010, 06:12:32 PM »
Gotham, love your Vernon, FL review. Haven't actually seen it, but it seems like the kind of review I'd give an 80s documentary that lacks narrative force behind it.

jbissell

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Re: 1980s US Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #517 on: June 26, 2010, 07:09:45 PM »
I haven't seen The Big Red One, but I wished Vernon, Florida had done more for you. I think it's strange and kind of great.

I think I feel the same way. I think Vernon is the Morris doc I like least, but I still found it quite entertaining. I do love Lee Marvin though.

Holly Harry

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Re: 1980s US Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #518 on: June 26, 2010, 07:15:34 PM »
Wow, I'm the opposite I found The Big Red One to far too commercial and lifeless, as well as boring, when compared to something like SPR that is much more personal and full of life.

I'm confused. How is "Saving Private Ryan" much more personal than "The Big Red One" since Spielberg was never in WWII and Fuller was not only in WWII, he was in the titular infantry? How does that work?
"Political questions, if you go back thousands of years, are ephemeral, not important. History is the same thing over and over again."-Woody Allen.

Bill Thompson

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Re: 1980s US Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #519 on: June 26, 2010, 07:30:29 PM »
Wow, I'm the opposite I found The Big Red One to far too commercial and lifeless, as well as boring, when compared to something like SPR that is much more personal and full of life.

I'm confused. How is "Saving Private Ryan" much more personal than "The Big Red One" since Spielberg was never in WWII and Fuller was not only in WWII, he was in the titular infantry? How does that work?

Whether or not the author was in the war matters not. My grandpa was in the war, but hearing him talk about the war was a detached and emotionless experience. Conversely my sophomore history teacher was never in the war, but when he talked about it he infused emotion into his speech and you could feel how personal the topic was for him, for whatever reason.

The same holds true for Fuller versus Spielberg, Fuller may have been there, but his tale is dry and without emotion, it doesn't feel personal, it feels like someone talking about the war without actually wanting to get into the truth of the war to them. Spielberg wasn't there, but you can tell the war meant something to him and that personal connection drips from every moment of SPR.