Author Topic: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon  (Read 75486 times)

THATguy

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #140 on: September 10, 2010, 01:12:02 PM »
As someone who didn't read the books (and doesn't particularly care to), the graveyard sequence is the best thing in any HP film, and because of that, Goblet of Fire is probably my favorite.

Dave the Necrobumper

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #141 on: September 10, 2010, 03:01:43 PM »
My favourite scene from Goblet of fire is the chaos of the Quidich world cup after the Death Eaters attack. It was a very well done scene.

oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #142 on: September 12, 2010, 01:46:48 PM »
As someone who didn't read the books (and doesn't particularly care to), the graveyard sequence is the best thing in any HP film, and because of that, Goblet of Fire is probably my favorite.

And that's the scene I most liked in both the movies and the books-- it's the turning point for the whole series.  At this point, everything turns dark and the light children's literature turns and the stakes get much higher at this point.  Before this, we were convinced nothing would really happen to the main characters.  After this, anything was possible.  But is this a strength of the movie, or simply the power of Rowling's writing?  I don't know.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #143 on: September 12, 2010, 01:55:22 PM »
Rear Window



I am not a Hitchcock fan.  There are many of his films that I think are perfectly adequate suspense thrillers, such as The 39 Steps and North By Northwest, but I often think he tries too hard and, at least for me, he fails.  I am not a fan of Vertigo, The Birds or Rope and Psycho I thought was okay, but I don’t feel the need to revisit it. 

Rear Window is different altogether.  Here, I think Hitchcock finally has accomplished the pinnacle of the thriller genre.  It is perfection in every way.  There is not a single misstep, and there is so much detail to linger on and to consider, as well as many personal and ethical questions to consider.  This is what movies can rarely accomplish—a fine example of what I love about movies.



Technical—5/5 In every way this is a film in which I award that rare label “perfect.”  The writing, the camera work, the pacing, the editing, the lighting—it all works together as a coherent whole to tell a unique story.
Interest—5/5  It fed me just enough information to keep me intensely interested and just enough character development that I wondered what would happen to these sometimes likable folks.



Tension—4/5—I’ve experienced movies with more tension, but the final 15-20 minutes kept me at the edge of my seat.
Emotional—3/5—Not deeply emotional, but it is a perfect film to engage the mind.
Characters—5/5—Jimmy Stewart is almost always one of my favorites, but he is surrounded by other amazing performers, including Grace Kelly and Raymond Burr.  I believed each character, and almost every action made perfect sense.



Theme—5/5 –Observation and responsibility.  I love some of the critical analysis of this film which says that the film is pointing the “peeping tom” blame upon the movie observer, which gives us a limited responsibility to that which takes place on the screen.
Ethics—5/5—There are a number of ethical questions that come up here, both about responsibility and relationships.  None of them are clearly answered, but the ideas are there.
Personal—4/5—The deepest personal connection is that I find myself observing other people’s lives and my wife and I are often discussing their issues from a distance, having little ability to do anything about it.  We often struggle with the balance between boundaries and personal responsibility.



I fell in love with Rear Window all over again and so it is being placed surprisingly high:

1. In America
2. Rear Window
3. Amelie
4. Edward Scissorhands
5. Princess Mononoke
6. The Dark Knight
7. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
8. Tideland
9. The Brothers Bloom
10.  I [Heart] Huckabees
11. District 9
12. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
13. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
14. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
15. The Son (2003)
16. Raising Arizona
17. Do The Right Thing
18. Adaptation
19. Three Kings
20. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
21. The Science of Sleep
22. Fitzcaraldo
23. Mister Roberts
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Bill Thompson

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #144 on: September 12, 2010, 01:59:37 PM »
I love Rear Window, but Grace Kelly really drags the movie down for me. Would be top level Hitchcock with someone like Kim Novak or Eva Marie Saint, Kelly is too flat for my liking.

1SO

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #145 on: September 12, 2010, 02:06:02 PM »
I love Rear Window, but Grace Kelly really drags the movie down for me.
This.  

The film feels slow, much slower than it should be.  So there isn't a constant, growing suspense so much as a couple of really intense scenes.

oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #146 on: September 12, 2010, 02:26:22 PM »
That's funny because I think that Vertigo jumps the gun and doesn't stretch it out enough.  On the other hand, I considered Rope to be without any suspense.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

verbALs

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #147 on: September 12, 2010, 02:37:16 PM »
I would put your point about this film's perfection like this. I think of Rear Window in the same way as one of those flawless three minute pop songs (God Only Knows, Teenage Kicks for instance); perfectly formed not a beat out of place, doesn't outstay its welcome. It is effortless in the same way and that's why it is my number two film. I also saw it at the cinema as a teenager (on re-release I'm not that old) and at the right time to turn me on to films as something more than sci-fi, action films or comedy. As such I am powerless to resist it; in the same way as if Grace Kelly walked into the room in that dress.

Hitchcock draws you further and further in; makes all those little window peeping vignettes so attractive and then turns around smacks you on the nose and says hey you perv no peeking! Such a wicked sense of humour.
I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don't do that so much anymore. - Banksy

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #148 on: September 13, 2010, 10:22:31 AM »
Yea, it's a great one. You must be watching the wrong Hitchcock if you don't like him. Check out Notorious and Rebecca.

verbALs

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #149 on: September 13, 2010, 11:58:54 AM »
Yea, it's a great one. You must be watching the wrong Hitchcock if you don't like him. Check out Notorious and Rebecca.

Second that
I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don't do that so much anymore. - Banksy