Author Topic: 1SO vs. the 00s Rebuttal Marathon - Coming This Summer  (Read 29793 times)

sdedalus

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Re: 1SO vs. the 00s Rebuttal Marathon - Coming This Summer
« Reply #10 on: April 23, 2010, 01:21:06 PM »
What have you seen from Johnnie To?  I'm thinking he's a director you and I would agree on . . . .
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zarodinu

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Re: 1SO vs. the 00s Rebuttal Marathon - Coming This Summer
« Reply #11 on: April 23, 2010, 02:22:50 PM »
Bus 174

Since City of God is your top film of the decade and "Worth comparing to 'City of God.'" is a sentiment among many that have watched both.  Not because they're stylistically similar but because the documentary is a great companion piece in a searing double bill.

I want to second this one.
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'Noke

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Re: 1SO vs. the 00s Rebuttal Marathon - Coming This Summer
« Reply #12 on: April 23, 2010, 03:06:53 PM »
I want to make a case for Talk to Her, have you seen it?
I actually consider a lot of movies to be life-changing! I take them to my heart and they melt into my personality.

flieger

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Re: 1SO vs. the 00s Rebuttal Marathon - Coming This Summer
« Reply #13 on: April 23, 2010, 03:34:06 PM »
This thread puts other marathons to shame.



United Red Army

A pretty epic review by me http://www.filmspotting.net/boards/index.php?topic=7665.0

An even more epic review by flieger http://www.filmspotting.net/boards/index.php?topic=1028.msg440469#msg440469

This is a great film that truly deserves to be seen.  It is long, it is dense, it is somewhat hard to get a hold off, but it is an utterly unforgettable experience.  The reason I think you should see it, is your review of United 93 which is currently seating at #3 of the decade for you.  URA shares alot of the qualities you list for 93.  From the humanizing of both the victims and the perpetrators, to the way the director always knows when to turn the camera away when you cannot take anymore, and finally the purposeful limitations of scope in order to up both the tension and the emotional stakes.  Most importantly URA like 93 meticulously recreates the feeling of the moment in history, you are not so much watching a movie as reliving the events.  

You and I have somewhat different tastes, but I suspect you will not be left with a "meh" response.  Its a picture you will either love or hate.  Either way it deserves a shot.  

Yeah, zarodinu speaks the truth. Definitely give this one a go.

FLYmeatwad

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Re: 1SO vs. the 00s Rebuttal Marathon - Coming This Summer
« Reply #14 on: April 23, 2010, 09:50:22 PM »
Was the best film of 2008 (Wendy and Lucy) part of the first marathon? If not, where's it at? Also, The Secret of Kells will ideally be out by this summer on DVD, as will A Town Called Panic I guess, and both are bad ass and should make the cut.

1SO

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Re: 1SO vs. the 00s Rebuttal Marathon - Coming This Summer
« Reply #15 on: April 23, 2010, 11:40:08 PM »
One recommendation per person?
Not at all.  You can try to sell me on as many films as you want.  You can make passionate pleas for 100 films, but I don't believe I would add all of them to the list.

I saw Bus 174, and hate the comparison to City of God.  I would suggest it's what lotr-sam0711 was hoping for from City of God.  I also thought it wasn't a very probing documentary.  Wanted so much more out of it.  Not going in the marathon.

The Woodsman
The Barbarian Invasions
Lagaan
I have seen The Barbarian Invasions and was mostly bored.  
Didn't see The Woodsman.  Didn't think anybody loved it enough to suggest it for a Top 100 list.
Lagaan has been in my DVD queue since the DVD was released, so it won't take too much prodding.


Have you seen Doubt? Junior and I might double team you on this one.
Saw Doubt.  Liked the cast, but didn't like the way John Patrick Shanley opened it up.  The extra scenes let a lot of the intensity get away.  I wouldn't bother trying to convince me.


Word. I could also make a good case for The Proposition.
Saw it and liked it a lot.  Would be up for giving it a 2nd look, if you think it'll play even better a 2nd time through.


I watched Touching The Void during the main marathon.  Real good film, but I definitely saw 100 I liked more.
My current list has 2 documentaries (you forgot Super Size Me).  Admittedly it's not my favorite genre.  I didn't even see Taxi to the Dark Side or Capturing the Friedmans

From what I can remember, my favorite docs not in the Top 100 would be...

Touching the Void
The Cove
Sicko
Spellbound
Crazy Love
Bowling For Columbine
Murderball
Man on Wire
The Fog of War
Encounters At the End of the World


What have you seen from Johnnie To?  I'm thinking he's a director you and I would agree on . . . .
I liked Running Out of Time, Fulltime Killer and especially P.T.U..  Haven't cared for the recent stuff.  I've seen Breaking News, Election 1 and 2 and Exiled.  I just haven't connected with his recent output.


I want to make a case for Talk to Her, have you seen it?
Almodovar.  Okay, I really hated All About my Mother and while there's a lot of interesting stuff in Talk to Her, it didn't quite turn me back around.  (Didn't even try Volver or Bad Education.)  The last Pedro film I really liked was Live Flesh.

Wendy and Lucy was in my Top 10 for 2008, just after [REC].  So it's close.
Which reminds me, I'll be adding Synecdoche, New York myself.  I mentioned it during the main marathon.  It really needs a 2nd viewing to see if I can better grasp its greatness.

Unpopular Opinion: I'm the only person who didn't like the animation style of The Secret of Kells.  And I grew tired of the style and surreal humor of A Town Called Panic about 5 minutes in.

BTW, hats off to FLY who keeps firing away suggestions even though I keep turning him down.  I'm certain we will strike a deal on something soon and I look forward to discovering what that film will be.  (Having said that, don't try Bolt.  It's not happening.)


I am adding United Red Army (zarodinu), but I don't know how difficult it will be to get a copy of the film.  (Same with Eureka.  Some of these films are not easy to get a copy of in the U.S.)

I just remembered I have an outstanding MDC for Food Inc.  (couldn't find it, but I should add it to the list.)
« Last Edit: April 24, 2010, 02:10:50 AM by 1SO »

zarodinu

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Re: 1SO vs. the 00s Rebuttal Marathon - Coming This Summer
« Reply #16 on: April 24, 2010, 03:17:17 AM »
I watched Touching The Void during the main marathon.  Real good film, but I definitely saw 100 I liked more.
My current list has 2 documentaries (you forgot Super Size Me).  Admittedly it's not my favorite genre.  I didn't even see Taxi to the Dark Side or Capturing the Friedmans

Actually your list has three documentaries, Waltz with Bashir is also on there which i am very happy about.  If you like Fog of War and put it on the list, you will have three of the four great documentaries of the last decade on there (I didn't care for Supersize Me).

Almodovar.  Okay, I really hated All About my Mother and while there's a lot of interesting stuff in Talk to Her, it didn't quite turn me back around.  (Didn't even try Volver or Bad Education.)  The last Pedro film I really liked was Live Flesh.

Sums up my feelings towards Almodovar, including Live Flesh being his best.

I am adding United Red Army (zarodinu), but I don't know how difficult it will be to get a copy of the film.  (Same with Eureka.  Some of these films are not easy to get a copy of in the U.S.)

Far out.  I know several sources where it is available, non of them further than your mouse, let me know if you need help locating them.  I have a few more great films that are not very well known but definitely belong on the list, I will wait until others had a turn before firing off any more suggestions.
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Verite

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Re: 1SO vs. the 00s Rebuttal Marathon - Coming This Summer
« Reply #17 on: April 24, 2010, 04:14:41 AM »
I saw Bus 174, and hate the comparison to City of God.  I would suggest it's what lotr-sam0711 was hoping for from City of God.  I also thought it wasn't a very probing documentary.  Wanted so much more out of it.  Not going in the marathon.

That's cool.  I think Bus 174 is more insightful about the underclass than City of God.  I like the latter film, by the way.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2010, 06:19:21 AM by Still Schmer »
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sdedalus

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Re: 1SO vs. the 00s Rebuttal Marathon - Coming This Summer
« Reply #18 on: April 24, 2010, 04:18:06 AM »
What have you seen from Johnnie To?  I'm thinking he's a director you and I would agree on . . . .

I liked Running Out of Time, Fulltime Killer and especially P.T.U..  Haven't cared for the recent stuff.  I've seen Breaking News, Election 1 and 2 and Exiled.  I just haven't connected with his recent output.

Hrmm.  I don't know what to do with that.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2010, 04:35:57 PM by pixote »
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Bondo

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Re: 1SO vs. the 00s Rebuttal Marathon - Coming This Summer
« Reply #19 on: April 24, 2010, 09:44:15 AM »
The Woodsman
The Barbarian Invasions
Lagaan
I have seen The Barbarian Invasions and was mostly bored.  
Didn't see The Woodsman.  Didn't think anybody loved it enough to suggest it for a Top 100 list.
Lagaan has been in my DVD queue since the DVD was released, so it won't take too much prodding.

Lagaan (2001)

Whatever else, this is still a Bollywood film with song and dance and romance.

Lagaan, one of only three Indian films to be nominated for a Best Foreign Language Oscar, applies the famed Bollywood style to a story of fighting against colonial oppression. In this case, the oppression is in the form of heavy taxes (Lagaan) that a village is behind on. Desperate to be free of the this burden, they negotiate with the British overseer a double-or-nothing wager over a game of cricket. If the Indians (who do not know the game) win, they are freed from their burden for two years but if they lose, they owe triple taxes. And so the film goes a bit like a sports film, watching the village learn how to play and ultimately the decisive cricket match. Not only is the film dramatically effective, it is a very good introduction to cricket, for those who are not familiar. You learn alongside the village. Lagaan would likely have a secure place in any Top 5 Sports Films list of mine. I like that the tax based anti-British colonialism has shades of America's own revolutionary struggle in it; only India got a nationally beloved sport out of it and we got teabaggers.

A note, though I'm sure I got this through Netflix, it is now back to a "save" status, which may mean there is a new version forthcoming or it went out of print or something.

The Woodsman (2004)


This is definitely a tough movie. Pedophiles are perceived as perhaps societies greatest monsters, so any film that humanizes them is going to be controversial. We may try to understand why terrorists do what they do, but we have no room for sympathy even to those afflicted by such inappropriate desires who do not act. In The Woodsman, Kevin Bacon stars as a man, Walter, released from prison after serving a long sentence for child molestation and captures his attempt to fit back into the world. He faces social isolation from even his family, with the exception of his brother-in-law (Benjamin Bratt), and they naturally are wary of letting Walter play any role in their child's life. We see Walter's attempts to kindle a proper romance (with Vicki (Kyra Sedgwick), burdened by his past, his struggles at work, his fighting of temptation, his interaction with his parole officer. It is ultimately a pretty delicate portrait of the variety of challenges someone in Walter's position might face. I know Jackie Earle Hayley gets a lot of praise for his portrayal of a child molester in Little Children, and it is certainly a good performance, but Bacon's performance here is even better as he realizes the character's situation makes him creepy enough and he doesn't need to play up creepy through mannerism. This is also in my top 50 films of all time.

Have you seen Doubt? Junior and I might double team you on this one.
Saw Doubt.  Liked the cast, but didn't like the way John Patrick Shanley opened it up.  The extra scenes let a lot of the intensity get away.  I wouldn't bother trying to convince me.

This was very much the problem for me. I had seen the play and really liked it and the film's script seemed like it left less doubt or something and thus like you said wasn't as intense.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2010, 06:02:51 PM by Bondo »

 

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