Author Topic: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon  (Read 75453 times)

oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #310 on: November 11, 2010, 12:09:17 AM »
Y Tu Mama Tambien



I had some trepidation approaching this film.  The brief synopsizes I’d read of the film emphasized how “erotic” it was to such a degree that I wondered if it was almost pornographic.  But it was praised so highly by filmspotters, that I figured I’d give it a chance. 

Well, the first scene is pretty explicit, shockingly so.  But it turns out it is a wonderful little drama about two older teenage boys and an older woman who go on a trip to a beach.  Yes, there are a lot of sexual undertones and a couple sex scenes (beyond the first scene).  But the important part of the film is how the woman teaches them to have relationship—not only with women, but with each other.  They gain a full education on what it means to be faithful, to forgive, and to balance responsibility with joy.   This is about character growth, not sex.  Well, not primarily about sex.



Technical—5/5—I loved the camera work here, the unique angles, especially when they were driving and a lot of the shots come from outside. 
Interest—4/5—The earlier scenes which were laying out the boys’ characters were a little dull for me.  But once they went on the trip and their discussions in the car and her deep sorrow—it was all good and I was caught. 
Tension—4/5—Certainly a fair amount of relational tension on occasion, especially in the middle part of the film.
Emotional—3/5—I didn’t really connect to the characters, see below.



Characters—3/5—Look, I believed in the characters.  I did.  But they were so separated from me or the people I knew that I just couldn’t relate.  So the characterization was fine, but the boys still seemed like cartoons of horny, out-to-have-fun teen boys—but I wasn’t one of these boys and I didn’t know them.  Still don’t.  What the woman was doing made sense by the end of the film, but, again, I don’t know if I know of anyone like this.
Theme—4/5—The need to live life to the fullest in relationship.  Pretty well realized.



Ethics—5/5—Actually, there are a lot of ethical questions brought up in this film, all relating to the right and wrong in relationship.  It openly talks about faithfulness, keeping to principle, forgiveness and freedom.  Not what I’d call a textbook film, but the questions brought up were excellent.  The most important thing was the hurt that was expressed when an ethical principle is broken.  These aren’t arbitrary ideas that can be thrown away if you don’t care for them.  And the seriousness with which the boys take relationships become the cornerstone of their maturity.  Excellent.

Personal—1/5—There was nothing I could connect to in the film, which really made it fall flat for me.  That was disappointing.

While there’s a lot of things to like about this film, I couldn’t really connect to the characters, and that leaves it off my top 100 for certain.

1. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
2. In America
3. Rear Window
4. Amelie
5. The Red Shoes
6. Edward Scissorhands
7. Princess Mononoke
8. The Dark Knight
9. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
10. Tideland
11. The Brothers Bloom
12. I [Heart] Huckabees
13. I’m Not There
14. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
15. The Man Without A Past
16. Dog Day Afternoon
17. Brick
18. District 9
19. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
20. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
21. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
22. 50 First Dates
23. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
24. Rachel Getting Married
25. The Godfather
26. The Son (2003)
27. Raising Arizona
28. How To Train A Dragon
29. Do The Right Thing
30. Adaptation
31. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
32. Scizopolis
33. Buckaroo Bonzai Across the Eighth Dimension
34. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
35. *ucking Amal/Show Me Love
36. Three Kings
37. Y Tu Mama Tambien
38. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
39. The Science of Sleep
40. Grizzly Man
41. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
42. Scarecrow
43. Fitzcaraldo
44. Zelig
45. Harold and Maude
46. Repulsion
47. Mister Roberts
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

zarodinu

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #311 on: November 11, 2010, 12:32:38 AM »
Sigh, one of the best films ever made.
I’ve lied to men who wear belts. I’ve lied to men who wear suspenders. But I’d never be so stupid as to lie to a man who wears both a belt and suspenders.

Bondo

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #312 on: November 11, 2010, 12:44:27 AM »
I don't know if it is a film I need to revisit seeing as since I watched it Cauron went on to make my second favorite film of all time and my second favorite Harry Potter film. But yeah, like you I couldn't really relate to the characters that much...and for me there was the dreaded not likable aspect to them. It just seems like there is too much callous disregard for each other. Frankly at this point the first 5-10 minutes is about all I remember. 8)

oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #313 on: November 12, 2010, 12:36:02 AM »
Red Beard



One of the things I love about Akira Kurosawa is his ability to take films that are in completely different situations, and turn them into high drama.  Sure, it’s easy when you are doing a version of Macbeth or King Lear, but this film is about a medical clinic in a poor area of Edo (which in a later era becomes Tokyo).  Could high drama be found here?  Perhaps the stakes aren’t as high as Ran or even The Seven Samurai, but this film expresses the drama of each human life, even the “small” life.  Red Beard is about the drama of compassion.

Technical—4/5—Nothing spectacular, but pretty sharp film quality for its era.  The script and direction are marvelous, if not exceptional.
Interest—5/5—Every time a story arc ends, there is another that has already started.  It is a powerful drama, filled with a number of laugh-out-loud moments, not least the out-of-context fight at the brothel.



Tension—4/5—At first, it seems pretty light, but as we follow the experiences of the new doctor, we join him as he bit by bit becomes more involved with those in the clinic.  At first, we have a bit of curiosity, then we experience the horror of death, then we appreciate the tragic story of the life of a good man, and then finally we are weeping at the tragedy of a small character.  I think I lost a bit of tension because I’d seen it just a year ago, but give me another year and I’ll be ready to see it again.
Emotional—5/5—Played me like a yo-yo



Characters—5/5—This is the final pairing of Kurosawa and Mifune, but Mifune is as brilliant as he ever was.  He plays the title character with that perfect balance of seriousness and willingness to make fun of himself that is so well done.  The character of the girl taken from the brothel is also perfectly played.  I wish that some of the smaller roles were given more room to develop.
Theme—4/5 Compassion over honor.  Pretty basic, but well done.



Ethics—5/5—There are no deep ethical questions brought up here, we are all familiar with the stakes here.  However the rewards of a life of compassion, as dubious as they are, are clearly presented.
Personal—5/5—I hope I’m not boasting, but it is my attempt to be a man like Red Beard and to create a community of help like he did.  And I think that this, more than anything else, is what touches me about this film and makes it my favorite of Kurosawa’s films.



It’s a personal favorite, and that’s a good enough reason to put it firmly in my top 100.
1. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
2. In America
3. Rear Window
4. Amelie
5. The Red Shoes
6. Edward Scissorhands
7. Princess Mononoke
8. The Dark Knight
9. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
10. Tideland
11. Red Beard
12. The Brothers Bloom
13. I [Heart] Huckabees
14. I’m Not There
15. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
16. The Man Without A Past
17. Dog Day Afternoon
18. Brick
19. District 9
20. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
21. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
22. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
23. 50 First Dates
24. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
25. Rachel Getting Married
26. The Godfather
27. The Son (2003)
28. Raising Arizona
29. How To Train A Dragon
30. Do The Right Thing
31. Adaptation
32. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
33. Scizopolis
34. Buckaroo Bonzai Across the Eighth Dimension
35. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
36. *ucking Amal/Show Me Love
37. Three Kings
38. Y Tu Mama Tambien
39. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
40. The Science of Sleep
41. Grizzly Man
42. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
43. Scarecrow
44. Fitzcaraldo
45. Zelig
46. Harold and Maude
47. Repulsion
48. Mister Roberts
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

MartinTeller

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #314 on: November 12, 2010, 10:48:29 AM »
Glad you like it.  I'll just post my most recent mini-review (from April 2010):

Quote
This has long been one of my very favorite Kurosawas.  This is probably my 5th or 6th time watching it, and every time I think, "Oh, it's not going to be as good as I remember it" and then it proves me wrong.  Although you could rightfully accuse it of being manipulative, you can't deny that it works.  Loaded with tragedy, misery, misfortune and cruelty, and equally full of redemption, kindness and relief (and comedy), it's a heartstring-tugger of the finest order.  And for my money the star is neither Toshiro Mifune in the title role, nor Yuzo Kayama as his protege.  The star of this film is young Terumi Niki, whose portrayal of the abused Otoyo chokes me up no less than FIVE times over the course of her transformation.  I also really enjoy the anecdotal structure, something Kurosawa didn't indulge in very often, but it works beautifully here, with so many memorable mini-stories: the "mantis", Sahachi's deathbed confession, the showdown at the brothel, Otoyo and the bowl, and the fate of little Chobo.  As for the technical aspects, it's elegant without being too flashy.  The compositions are truly masterful, artful yet utterly practical.  The use of sound is striking (Sahachi's chimes, for instances) and even more impressive is the use of silence.  There are long stretches of this movie with very little happening on the soundtrack, which only serves to keep you even more riveted.  Kurosawa's most emotionally rich and satisfying work.  Rating: 10

zarodinu

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #315 on: November 12, 2010, 02:20:47 PM »
Red Beard is one of the most underrated Kurosawa films (many people have never heard of it despite claiming he is their favorite director).  There is just so much humanity in that movie (Kurosawa is the anti-Kubrick in many ways).  Its the movie that helped push me towards medicine as a career.  Great review.
I’ve lied to men who wear belts. I’ve lied to men who wear suspenders. But I’d never be so stupid as to lie to a man who wears both a belt and suspenders.

oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #316 on: November 13, 2010, 10:19:37 AM »
Great review, Martin.

And did it really encourage you toward medicine, zarodinu? 

It's good to know that it's just as powerful to others as to me.  Now we just need to get everyone else to watch it.  :)
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

zarodinu

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #317 on: November 16, 2010, 11:10:43 AM »
Yes it really inspired me to become a doctor.  I think this movie should be mandatory viewing in high schools along with Ikiru, in a society full of selfish brats and sociopathic careerists, it may help some teens develop a conscience. 

Though these days I doubt many high schoolers can even read the subtitles...   

I’ve lied to men who wear belts. I’ve lied to men who wear suspenders. But I’d never be so stupid as to lie to a man who wears both a belt and suspenders.

oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #318 on: November 17, 2010, 10:59:25 PM »
Yes it really inspired me to become a doctor.  I think this movie should be mandatory viewing in high schools along with Ikiru, in a society full of selfish brats and sociopathic careerists, it may help some teens develop a conscience. 

Though these days I doubt many high schoolers can even read the subtitles...   

Mercy probably could.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Bondo

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #319 on: November 17, 2010, 11:02:08 PM »
Yes it really inspired me to become a doctor.  I think this movie should be mandatory viewing in high schools along with Ikiru, in a society full of selfish brats and sociopathic careerists, it may help some teens develop a conscience. 

Though these days I doubt many high schoolers can even read the subtitles...   

Mercy probably could.

Probably? I'm pretty sure she watched a good number of Bollywood films :)