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Author Topic: Ferris' GooseEgg Marathon: 40 great films from this decade  (Read 101370 times)

oldkid

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Re: Ferris' GooseEgg Marathon: 40 great films from this decade
« Reply #490 on: March 11, 2010, 11:57:56 PM »
I am both excited about the upcoming marathon and sad to see this one end.  It has been truly epic.  One of the best personal marathons ever, ferris!  We are so proud of your achievement!
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oneaprilday

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Re: Ferris' GooseEgg Marathon: 40 great films from this decade
« Reply #491 on: March 12, 2010, 12:03:04 AM »
Agree with everybody - loved this marathon, ferris, and I'm sad it's over. :(

ferris

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Re: Ferris' GooseEgg Marathon: 40 great films from this decade
« Reply #492 on: March 13, 2010, 02:23:48 PM »
Agree with everybody - loved this marathon, ferris, and I'm sad it's over. :(

Thanks OAD and everyone else for all the support and motivation!!  This is the first time I've done anything like this and it was pretty fun for me to do!
"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' GooseEgg Marathon: 40 great films from this decade
« Reply #493 on: March 13, 2010, 02:33:18 PM »
So I know this kinda fealt like it ended already, but I do want to catch up on the reviews I hadn't posted yet.  So bear with me! :)


Goose Egg Marathon Film #38



The Wind that Shakes the Barley
(2006,  Ken Loach)


"I hope this Ireland we're fighting for is worth it."

The film opens in the early 1920's as Damien O'Donovan (played by Cillian Murphy) is preparing to leave his rural Ireland for London to work as a hospital doctor.  His older brother Teddy (played by Pádraic Delaney), who has long been involved in the Irish Republican Army in the "tan war" against British "occupying troops. Circumstances change as Damien witnesses two brutal acts by British troops before his is set to leave.  What remains is the story of his involvement and relationships in a ragtag force engaging in conflicts fighting for Irish Independence.



Perhaps the strongest aspect of the film is the cinematography.  The film's on-location shooting in Ireland sets this perfectly in time and place.  It unveils as part travelogue and part history lesson - as the story loosely mirrors the story of Ernie O'Malley - a hero in early 1900's Irish independent activism.  The real-life events leading up to and following an treaty represent a tragic period of conflict between the two great wars of the century - an "undeclared" conflict that ripped families apart, pitched friend against friend and, at times, brothers against brothers.  This film captures this period wonderfully.





Despite my words of praise, I left a little wanting on character development.  This film hit the high and low points that all films of it's genre do.  However I felt a level of disconnection with Damien and the people in his circle of influence.  Emotional crescendo's upon it's climax rang somewhat hollow.  



Nevertheless, I can recommend this film.  I would have a hard time imaging someone watching it and not coming away with a very positive experience.

Verdict:
Part travelogue, part history lesson, this film delivers a strong and compelling narrative, but I found it somewhat forgettable in the end.

Grade: B
"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' GooseEgg Marathon: 40 great films from this decade
« Reply #494 on: March 13, 2010, 02:40:42 PM »
Goose Egg Marathon Film #39



The Squid and the Whale
(2006,  Noah Baumbach)


I'll start by saying I watched this in probably the some pretty unfair circumstances.  It's been a long week on a business trip and I watched this on the crappy hotel television.  I started it at about 11:00 at night after a long day of some incredible mind-numbing requirements-definitions meetings at work. So all this being said, you probably shouldn't anticipate a glowing review!

The film opens on a reasonably affluent New York family - husband and wife and two boys.  It becomes obvious early on that there is a lot of strain in the marriage and the boys are put in the middle.   What follows is a series of events and decisions made as family secrets are revealed and characters learn about each other and themselves as they cope with dramatically changing circumstances. 



What is kinda interesting about this film is we really have four characters that are pretty unsympathetic.  The father - who thinks highly of himself -- gets revealed as curiously insecure with with his talent, especially as his successes find themselves further back in the rear-view mirror, and his wife begins to boast some successes of her own.  This insecurity manifests itself in an increasingly inappropriate competitive behavior.   The wife is a bit a shrew.  She finds herself in a place of detachment where she no longer feels as attached or committed to her wife and kids.  She has been the level-headed person in the partnership, but her behavior becomes increasingly self-punishing.  The older boy - socially awkward - has been a strangely steadfast admirer of his father - although being at an age when manage teenager try to separate themselves from their parents.  He's picked up a lifetime of his father's bad habits - which his father seems to encourage!  The youngest has perhaps the strangest but most understood problems.  The family issues have him turning to some mature behavior.  His parents' self-involvement allows this to go unchecked.



I give the film credit for this bold choice of asking audiences to stay with this family, to take sides and allow their perceptions be changed as the story unfolds.  The story of the older son is one probably a lot of teens can relate to as the shimmer of childhood begins to fade.  I sense that the film is somehow autobiographical as Baumbach is trying to exorcise some ugly periods in his own life - and some watershed moment in his life that changed his outlook forever.



As much as I think the film is going for, I wish I could say it delivered the emotional punch I was hoping for.  For some reason I just couldn't seem to get hooked into these characters and their problems.  But I can't say it was "bad".  The story had a genuineness to it, and the performances were well acted.  I can totally see someone else having a totally different emotional reaction to this.  However, for me the film was just kinda "there".  Well - if I'm honest - maybe I'm the one that was just "there".

So I suppose at some point I should give it another try.  Anyone want to make a compelling argument?

Verdict:
Not terrible, but not great. Solidly average, but I sense it was trying to be great.

Grade: C+
"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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Clovis8

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Re: Ferris' GooseEgg Marathon: 40 great films from this decade
« Reply #495 on: March 13, 2010, 02:44:57 PM »
you tease. Get to the important one! :D

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Ferris' GooseEgg Marathon: 40 great films from this decade
« Reply #496 on: March 13, 2010, 02:47:04 PM »
you tease. Get to the important one! :D
Yea, I was gonna post something along the lines of: "Clovis just cares about your next post."

ferris

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Re: Ferris' GooseEgg Marathon: 40 great films from this decade
« Reply #497 on: March 13, 2010, 02:50:32 PM »
Goose Egg Marathon Film #40



Before Sunset
(2004, Richard Linklater)


"But we're not real anyway, right? We're just, uh, characters in that old lady's dream. She's on her deathbed, fantasizing about her youth. So of course we had to meet again. "

Non-Spoiler Review
When you go into a sequel like this - one for a film (Before Sunrise) so universally admired, it would seem you'd have everything to lose and perhaps nothing to gain.  But it become obvious pretty early on that Linklater and his two leads had handled this project with such dignity and care that not only did the result turn out to be worthy of its predecessor, but very likely its superior.  Early on I analyzed every decision, but I soon got swept up in the story.  Now when I think back - every decision they made was perfect.  There were a lot of unknowns going out of the first film - those who have seen the first one know these well.  Like the characters in the story, the audience has been waiting 9 years to see how things turn out.  They turn out....well....I can't tell you that.  You're going to have to see to find out.



Spoiler Review

I didn't really have a review to write per se, but I wanted to highlight a few things that were really kinda cool

1) I love the way they revealed how the "6 month" thing turned out: First with him saying he hadn't made it, later sheepishly admitting he had with all forgiveness - but later revealing how angry he actually was how it turned out.  So real.. So non-Hollywood.

2) She also had her moment of emotion.  I love the way the regret and anger came out - in particular how she was portrayed in the book.  Again it is the opposite of how a normal movie script might have conveniently hadn't it.

3) I love the way they revealed the marriage - some 30 minutes in and after he had sorta-kinda made a pass at her.  It was her trump card and she played it at that moment of her own self-vulnerability.



4)I love the fact that the conversation was at a much higher level of maturity than in the first film - and they acknowledged it.  The characters were in different places in their lives. The concerns are different, heavier but no more rational, or less hypocritical in nature.  Doesn't this make you just want to see them again in about 10 years to meet again?  .  



5)  It's cool how they addressed the sex thing from the first movie - taking something that might have been ambiguous and adding ambiguity to it before answering it head-on.  What fun.
 
6) The final scene - so much to like.  You HAD to end it that way.  There is no other way to do.  But here 's a few other comments about that scene:
- her song?....was actually good.  I was kinda expecting "smelly cat".  Nice attention to detail there.
- He's laying back in that futon listening. His pose is so relaxed and his look so longing.  All the while fiddling with his wedding ring.  Loved that.

7) Last note: the scene on the boat - the wind and the blouse.  Ok - so there's this hoax women have played on men since the dawn of time that they are blissfully unaware of wardrobe physics.  She chose that shirt:  the character and the actress - they both new what they were doing - and BOTH of them knew that his character was married.  Think about that!



8) And what about this moment:  So awesome.



Loved this film.  I could go on and on.  Wish I saw this when it first came out so I could chew someone's ear off about it for an hour.  Gonna have to buy this.

Verdict:
Practically perfect.  Brilliant script.  Figures to have a long life on my top 100 for years to come.

Grade: A+
« Last Edit: March 13, 2010, 02:54:48 PM 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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Clovis8

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Re: Ferris' GooseEgg Marathon: 40 great films from this decade
« Reply #498 on: March 13, 2010, 02:55:17 PM »
Love the review. You are so right about the little things.

It is the most truthful film about love I have ever seen and maybe will ever be made.

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Ferris' GooseEgg Marathon: 40 great films from this decade
« Reply #499 on: March 13, 2010, 02:57:16 PM »

4)I love the fact that the conversation was at a much higher level of maturity than in the first film - and they acknowledged it.  The characters were in different places in their lives. The concerns are different, heavier but no more rational, or less hypocritical in nature.  Doesn't this make you just want to see them again in about 10 years to meet again?
I don't know if I agree that their conversations are more mature, I think it's just more like you say that they are at a different point in their lives and have changed their ways. I'm not at that point and perhaps that's why I didn't find it as good as the first one.

And as for seeing them in ten years...there's been talk of another film. Maybe in 2014?

 

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