Author Topic: Ferris' GooseEgg Marathon: 40 great films from this decade  (Read 101332 times)

ferris

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Re: Ferris' Goose Egg Marathon: FORTY(!) Great Films from this Decade (2000-2009)
« Reply #410 on: February 24, 2010, 11:24:23 PM »
Goose Egg Marathon Film #32



Requiem for a Dream
(2000,  Darren Aronofsky)

"Purple in the morning, blue in the afternoon, orange in the evening...There's my three meals, Mr. Smartypants."


In the past dozen years, no one director has more put a stamp on his visual and directoral brand with his first three films than Darren Aronofsky, His debut film, Pi, established his frantic editing style, with jump cuts, a myriad of lenses, and dreamlike imagery, perfectly accented by Clint Mansell's industrial score.  In 2006, The Fountain showed a somewhat quieter, more mature, but grander themed approach - but upped the ante with incredible visual wizardry.



Requiem for a Dream fits between those two as a natural bridge between the two - more cohesive and palatable than Pi, but perhaps not quiet as focused an elegant as the Fountain.  






When you include The Wrestler we have four films that are character studies with narrowed defined themes - narrow, but brought to it's extreme conclusion.  I love the artist following that crack in the ice all the way to end.  And like his other films, Aronofsy manages to do this in a relatively short 102 minutes.  It is very efficient storytelling.  He manages an extremely immersive filmwatching experience.  



Requiem for a Dream follows the story of Harry (Jared Leto) and his girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) - small time drug dealers (and big-time addicts!) who's lives begin to unravel as supply tightens around them.  Meanwhile, in a separate story, Jared's mom - excited about the prospect of being on television is intent on losing enough weight to fit in a red dress she plans to wear on the show.  In both cases their obsessions have unintended consequences.  Like all Aronofsky films, the plot is not the main focus here.  It would be too reductive to call this a cautionary tale about drugs.  For me the main draws of the film are Aronofsky's visual style and a one-for-the-ages performance by Ellen Burstyn. (seemed ordinary in the early going but just wowwed me by the end).  Wayans was a pretty big surprise.  I was surprised when I saw his name in the opening credits.  


"Yeah, like I'm eating eggs and grapefruit at Tavern on the Green"





Over the years the film earned a reputation as being "a great one-timer" - so heavy and sobering that despite people's affection for the film they might never choose to do a repeat reviewing.  I've heard it called an "endurance test".  For me I was much less challenged by it that I anticipated, even as things really began to devolve in the last act.  Having seen Pi on several occasions I was anticipating a visceral experience!





So overall - great to have seen this.  I didn't like it enough to get it above my Mendoza line, but I can assure you I'm as excited as ever to see what tricks DA has up his sleeves next.


Verdict:
Aronofsky is working on a whole other plane.  Stylistically "cool".  A thematic endurance test

Grade: B+

New standings:
1-Spirited Away
2-The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
3-Children of Men
4-United 93
5-Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
6-The Science of Sleep
7-In the Bedroom
8-Yi Yi
9-25th Hour
10-Fantastic Mr Fox
11-The Lives of Others
12-The Fountain
---------Likely Top 50 of Decade cut off---------------------
13-Y Tu Mama Tambien
14-Mulholland Drive
15-Team America World Police
16-The Man Who Wasn't There
17-Requiem for a Dream
18-High Fidelity
19-City of God
20-The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
21-Pan's Labyrinth
22-Joyeux Noel
23-A Prairie Home Companion
24-The Hurt Locker
25-I'm Not There
26-Master and Commander: Far Side of the World
27-Capturing the Friedmans
28-Los Angeles Plays Itself
29-Apolcalypto
30-Rivers and Tides
31-Brick


« Last Edit: February 25, 2010, 12:15:29 AM by ferris »
"And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs" - Exodus 8:2 KJV
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Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Ferris' Goose Egg Marathon: FORTY(!) Great Films from this Decade (2000-2009)
« Reply #411 on: February 24, 2010, 11:39:06 PM »
Sad to see you didn't love it, but at least you liked it.

ferris

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Re: Ferris' Goose Egg Marathon: FORTY(!) Great Films from this Decade (2000-2009)
« Reply #412 on: February 25, 2010, 12:07:13 AM »
Sad to see you didn't love it, but at least you liked it.

I LOVE Pi, and I LOVE the Wrestler.  This was very good
"And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs" - Exodus 8:2 KJV
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ferris

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Re: Ferris' Goose Egg Marathon: FORTY(!) Great Films from this Decade (2000-2009)
« Reply #413 on: February 25, 2010, 10:00:41 AM »
Goose Egg Marathon Film #33



Grizzly Man
(2005, Werner Herzog)

"Only Timmy is the boss of all foxes and all bears!!!"

After 32 films I'm getting a bit exhausted of writing reviews.  (I somehow make the process far harder and time consuming than it needs to be and they never came out like I want them.  The transfer from brain to written word is impossible!)

So this review will be short.  May this be no reflection on the film.



I LOVED THIS.

This is looking like potential Top 100 material.  

Grizzly Man is a documentary by Werner Herzog's about Timothy Treadwell, a young man who spent 13 summers in close contact with grizzly bears in Katmai National Park in Alaska.  In latter summers he brought film equipment with him to help document his experiences.   It's revealed early on that Timothy died in this persuit.  



The man vs nature motif is right in Herzog's wheelhouse so it's no shock he was attracted to the material   The way Herzog unveils the story of Treadwill reveals a pretty good mastery on how to present such material.  He had over 85 hours of Treadwell's footage to work from, but he also cut in interviews with friends and family.  The result gives us a pretty complete picture of the man and his approach to life and his pursuits.   It was fascinating how Herzog let a few of the interviews go pretty long from two guys that seemed to be putting on a performance for the camera, much like Treadwell was in his last few summers.  Juxtapose that with interviews with a few of the women in his life - one of whom is the keeper of the film footage - including audio from the moment of Treadwell's death (which is handled brilliantly by Herzog).  


"He finally managed to figure out how to live here forever"----

"I am the floaty thing's gopher boy!"

It's a pretty well rounded view we get.  No surprise Herzog manages to insert his own commentary about the choas of nature.  It's very interesting to take on this material having a background knowledge of the man who is as interested in Treadwell as filmmaker as bear enthusiast.

There is a lot more to talk about, but I'm starting to get sick of hearing the sound of my own words!

Ok I'm officially interested: Bring on Encounters, bring on Fitzcaraldo, bring on Rescue Dawn




Verdict:
Brilliant and fascinating documentary.  I need to go buy this.  Top 100 material me thinks.

Grade: A+

New standings:
1-Spirited Away
2-The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
3-Children of Men
4-United 93
5-Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
6-The Science of Sleep
7-Grizzly Man
8-In the Bedroom
9-Yi Yi
10-25th Hour
11-Fantastic Mr Fox
12-The Lives of Others
13-The Fountain
14-Mulholland Drive
---------Likely Top 50 of Decade cut off---------------------
15-Y Tu Mama Tambien
16-Team America World Police
17-TThe Man Who Wasn't There
18-Requiem for a Dream
19-High Fidelity
20-City of God
21-The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
22-Pan's Labyrinth
23-Joyeux Noël
24-A Prairie Home Companion
25-The Hurt Locker
26-Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World
27-Capturing the Friedmans
29-Los Angeles Plays Itself
30-Apocolypto
31-Rivers and Tides: Art of Andy Goldsworthy
32-Brick
« Last Edit: February 25, 2010, 10:57:46 AM by ferris »
"And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs" - Exodus 8:2 KJV
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'Noke

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Re: Ferris' Goose Egg Marathon: FORTY(!) Great Films from this Decade (2000-2009)
« Reply #414 on: February 25, 2010, 10:07:17 AM »
It's a brilliant movie, a great entryway into Herzog's other work.
I actually consider a lot of movies to be life-changing! I take them to my heart and they melt into my personality.

oneaprilday

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Re: Ferris' Goose Egg Marathon: FORTY(!) Great Films from this Decade (2000-2009)
« Reply #415 on: February 25, 2010, 11:02:12 AM »
Grizzly Man
(2005, Werner Herzog)
I LOVED THIS.

Verdict:
Brilliant and fascinating documentary.  I need to go buy this.  Top 100 material me thinks.

Grade: A+
I'm so happy you loved this movie so much! It's in my top 100, and I'd say, yes!, do buy it. I own very few films, but I bought this one so I could use it for one of my classes (it generates awesome discussion), and I love it more every time I watch it.

You may know about this already, but if not, here's a great interview that Mark Kermode did with Herzog about Grizzly Man:
Werner Herzog on the Culture Show

ferris

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Re: Ferris' Goose Egg Marathon: FORTY(!) Great Films from this Decade (2000-2009)
« Reply #416 on: February 25, 2010, 11:03:46 AM »
Grizzly Man
(2005, Werner Herzog)
I LOVED THIS.

Verdict:
Brilliant and fascinating documentary.  I need to go buy this.  Top 100 material me thinks.

Grade: A+
I'm so happy you loved this movie so much! It's in my top 100, and I'd say, yes!, do buy it. I own very few films, but I bought this one so I could use it for one of my classes (it generates awesome discussion), and I love it more every time I watch it.

You may know about this already, but if not, here's a great interview that Mark Kermode did with Herzog about Grizzly Man:
Werner Herzog on the Culture Show

thanks for the link.  I'll check that out for sure.
"And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs" - Exodus 8:2 KJV
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ferris

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Re: Ferris' Goose Egg Marathon: FORTY(!) Great Films from this Decade (2000-2009)
« Reply #417 on: February 25, 2010, 02:27:06 PM »
...here's a great interview that Mark Kermode did with Herzog about Grizzly Man:
Werner Herzog on the Culture Show

he got SHOT during the interview!!!?  Air gun yeah, but STILL!  holy cow.  Herzog is a cool customer.  Interesting to hear him reaffirm what I took to be his take on the film.
"And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs" - Exodus 8:2 KJV
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sdedalus

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Re: Ferris' Goose Egg Marathon: FORTY(!) Great Films from this Decade (2000-2009)
« Reply #418 on: February 25, 2010, 02:29:59 PM »
It was an insignificant bullet.
The End of Cinema

Seattle Screen Scene

"He was some kind of a man. What does it matter what you say about people?"

oneaprilday

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Re: Ferris' Goose Egg Marathon: FORTY(!) Great Films from this Decade (2000-2009)
« Reply #419 on: February 25, 2010, 02:52:17 PM »
...here's a great interview that Mark Kermode did with Herzog about Grizzly Man:
Werner Herzog on the Culture Show

he got SHOT during the interview!!!?  Air gun yeah, but STILL!  holy cow.  Herzog is a cool customer.  Interesting to hear him reaffirm what I took to be his take on the film.
Crazy, huh? Herzog is just as interesting as his subjects, I think!


It was an insignificant bullet.
:D