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Author Topic: Bondo's Great Directors  (Read 70444 times)

maņana

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Re: Revisiting Great Directors
« Reply #130 on: June 24, 2010, 04:47:16 PM »
Nice Shortbus review, Bondo. I'm gonna catch up with that film one of these days. Sook-Yin!
I'd watch it just for her :)
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Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Revisiting Great Directors
« Reply #131 on: June 24, 2010, 05:55:50 PM »
I really enjoy Shaun, but your criticism is precisely why Hot Fuzz (which never stop building tension, excitement and laughs) is the better film.
Well, it's no Scream.

Bondo

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Re: Revisiting Great Directors
« Reply #132 on: June 24, 2010, 05:59:24 PM »
I really enjoy Shaun, but your criticism is precisely why Hot Fuzz (which never stop building tension, excitement and laughs) is the better film.
Well, it's no Scream.

I think I probably agree on Scream being better than either of the Wright films...though it has the advantage of being a movie geared towards teens released when I was a teen. It probably isn't purely as funny but it is a better movie.

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Revisiting Great Directors
« Reply #133 on: June 24, 2010, 09:53:27 PM »
I really enjoy Shaun, but your criticism is precisely why Hot Fuzz (which never stop building tension, excitement and laughs) is the better film.
Well, it's no Scream.

I think I probably agree on Scream being better than either of the Wright films...though it has the advantage of being a movie geared towards teens released when I was a teen. It probably isn't purely as funny but it is a better movie.
It's way more fun (IMHO).

Bondo

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Re: Revisiting Great Directors
« Reply #134 on: June 25, 2010, 03:08:12 PM »
Wide Awake (M. Night Shyamalan, 1998)

Coming out a year prior to The Sixth Sense, the second of M. Night's films has much the feel of a small film. Starring the likes of Denis Leary, Dana Delany, Rosie O'Donnell and a young Julia Stiles, the real focus here is on Joshua, a boy at a Catholic school who is dealing with the death of his grandfather and searching for God. In many ways this film reminded me of Millions, the Danny Boyle film that is coming up later in the marathon. It is a sweet, very Catholic sort of film. Millions is certainly a much better film and includes much darker undertones that allow it to be a richer story, but it was also a film from a well established director.

Aside from being cute, it does have a couple particularly funny lines. I'm not sure I'd recommend this film generally though it wouldn't be a bad one for the tween set. With Castle of Cagliostro coming next and then Hot Fuzz, I'll have worked through the full filmographies of five directors with the exception of M. Night's Praying With Anger which I am very interested in (it is set in India) but I cannot find through any of my usual means.

Rating: 2/5

Bondo

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Re: Revisiting Great Directors
« Reply #135 on: June 26, 2010, 08:25:50 PM »
Lupin The Third: Castle of Cagliostro (Hayao Miyazaki, 1979)

Miyazaki's first feature is a rather unique beast. While it isn't completely separated from some of his wilder action driven films like Porco Rosso and Castle In The Sky, this one is particularly high paced with highly exaggerated images. Of his films, this probably takes itself least seriously; and it is fun, if a slightly shallow venture. I do think it goes a bit over the line in ignoring physics almost completely. There isn't a lot of intrigue or ingenuity necessary to overcome obstacles when your lead can literally do just about anything. It is still a sweet, fun ride, more enjoyable than Porco but lacking the richness of Castle In The Sky.

Rating: 3/5

Bill Thompson

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Re: Revisiting Great Directors
« Reply #136 on: June 26, 2010, 08:31:19 PM »
Physics are overrated next to the power of imagination.

Holly Harry

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Re: Revisiting Great Directors
« Reply #137 on: June 26, 2010, 08:45:37 PM »
I am still utterly baffled by people who look for literal logic in a cartoon.
"Political questions, if you go back thousands of years, are ephemeral, not important. History is the same thing over and over again."-Woody Allen.

Bondo

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Re: Revisiting Great Directors
« Reply #138 on: June 26, 2010, 08:56:13 PM »
I am still utterly baffled by people who look for literal logic in a cartoon.

Even Wyle E Coyote fell eventually. Still, I'm not looking for literal logic; I'm complaining that its complete absence actually undercuts the effectiveness of the plot. It wouldn't be a problem if the plot was effective for it.

Bondo

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Re: Revisiting Great Directors
« Reply #139 on: June 30, 2010, 10:11:49 PM »
Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright, 2007)

This is just a perfect comedic/action film. Every joke it attempts lands. The plot manages to nicely play upon all the genre conventions, turns the absurd up to eleven, yet manages to be a legitimate entry saying something new about the tensions between the city and the suburban or more rural areas, where they may not have certain crime issues but they do seem to find any manner of minor annoyances worth great concern and blow it all out of proportion. They do this out of a sense that their lifestyle must be perfect. You hear it in things about "no one likes to live in the cities, it is too expensive." Of course, the reason cities are expensive is there is so much demand to live there.

One of the first scenes is just an example of the comedy and the talent involved here. Nick Angel (Simon Pegg) is in the office being told he is being promoted but also sent to a small town police force service by the Sergeant (Martin Freeman). He asks to speak to the Inspector (Steve Coogan). Unsatisfied with this he asks to speak to the Chief Inspector (Bill Nighy, making his return appearance for Wright). Each is does their own little variation on the theme. There are also a couple of references to Shaun of the Dead and a boatload of early set-ups that pay off later in the film.

The cast as things go on is just as stellar. In addition to the pairing with Nick Frost (which I hope will be revived a couple more times, the chemistry is just so fantastic), you get Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine, Steven Merchant...hell, even Cate Blanchet (I thought it looked like her eyes but I didn't believe it until I read it at imdb) and Peter Jackson make appearances. Of course, last but not least for me to mention is Timothy Dalton playing the delightfully sleazy and obviously complicit Simon Skinner.

So is it obvious enough to say that Pegg/Frost is the best comic tandem of the 00s? Definitely in the top 5-10 pure comedies of the 00s and would make a real good argument for top 100 of the decade.

Rating: 5/5