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Author Topic: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon  (Read 75482 times)

1SO

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #330 on: November 19, 2010, 12:12:27 PM »
This is not my favorite Pixar.  Thus, this will not be the only Pixar in my Top 100.
;D

FroHam X

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #331 on: November 19, 2010, 12:13:31 PM »
This is not my favorite Pixar.  Thus, this will not be the only Pixar in my Top 100.
;D

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oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #332 on: November 24, 2010, 12:54:32 AM »
The White Ribbon


"The sins of the fathers will be visited on the third and fourth generations"

Haneke is becoming one of my favorite directors.  I’ve seen the American version of Funny Games, Cache and now The White Ribbon and there is something brilliantly subversive about these films.  Their critique of middle class values and the reversal of fortunes of the satisfied strikes a chord in me. 

This film differs from the others in that its message is more subtle, and it makes me work harder for the point.  Like Cache, the final seconds open up possibilities. 

Technical—5/5—Cinematographically the smoothest of the Haneke I’ve seen.  It isn’t gorgeous or stunning, but it feels very professional, very pleasant.  Like many of his scripts, it feels subtle and understated, but it is anything but.  It is difficult to avoid a tap of the hammer when it hits you on the forehead.



Interest—4/5—This was an interest of intellectual curiosity more than anything else.  I was curious as to the injuries and killings, and later I was deeply trying to figure out what Heneke was up to, his point.  Like other Heneke movies, my interest was piqued even further at the end of the film, with an immediate desire to re-watch sections of it.  That’s pretty rare for me, but Heneke has gotten this reaction from me more than once.
Tension—3/5—I didn’t feel much tension.  I had no sense of what was to come. 
Characters—3/5—I was really fascinated by the plot, but not a single character engaged me.  They were all played well, especially the children, but they were too cold for me.


Adolph, how long will your kind heart last?

Emotional—2/5—I didn’t feel anything for this film.  It is interesting enough, but I really felt disengaged from everything that was going on.
Theme—5/5—This is the type of context that produces dehumanization and persecution of minorities.  It is quiet and nothing stands out, but that’s why it is allowed.  A powerful, disturbing message.
Ethics—5/5—The ethical statement is so subtle.  “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke.  The good men do nothing about the growing evil in the midst and this is the real message.  Everyone is so passive, so ultimately unconcerned about a growing evil, that the end becomes Nazism.  The other main ethical point here is about the importantance of ethical parenting.  If we make allowances for evil in our children—lack of mercy and punishing the minority—then the next generation will reap widespread hatred and war.  Powerful message.


"Please turn around."

Personal—3/5—I felt nothing for the characters, but I resonate so strongly with the message that this film is still significant for me.

Heneke is a great director.  I am stunned by his films and I will pursue more of them.  And although I consider this an excellent examples of his filmmaking skills, it still leaves me cold, as if it were a fascinating intellectual puzzle, which I can leave behind satisfied, ready to pick it up another time.  I will watch this film again, in hopes to delve into this puzzle again, but I am not driven to dwell in this town some more, nor was I emotionally engaged enough to be mesmerized.   Like Citizen Kane, it is a brilliant meh.

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. Toy Story 2
16. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
17. The Man Without A Past
18. Dog Day Afternoon
19. Brick
20. District 9
21. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
22. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
23. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
24. 50 First Dates
25. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
26. Rachel Getting Married
27. The Godfather
28. The Son (2003)
29. Raising Arizona
30. How To Train A Dragon
31. Shaun of the Dead
32. Do The Right Thing
33. Adaptation
34. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
35. Scizopolis
36. Buckaroo Bonzai Across the Eighth Dimension
37. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
38. *ucking Amal/Show Me Love
39. Three Kings
40. Y Tu Mama Tambien
41. The White Ribbon
42. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
43. The Science of Sleep
44. Grizzly Man
45. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
46. Scarecrow
47. Fitzcaraldo
48. Zelig
49. Harold and Maude
50. Repulsion
51. Mister Roberts
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

FroHam X

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #333 on: November 24, 2010, 02:23:35 AM »
Yay for White Ribbon.

I will now link to my review of the film.
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rambler

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #334 on: November 24, 2010, 04:08:03 PM »

Anyways, I curious Steve, based on what you said about zombie films, how many of the Romero films have you seen?

I haven't seen a single Romero films, but Shaun has given me the courage to try one, so I shall.

I don't like horror movies in general and zombie movies in particular, mostly because I feel that they are trying to appall a reaction out of me rather than thrill me.
But I like "Shaun of" and the original "Night of" they are definitely worth seeing and are towering bookends of a genre that I'd otherwise be happy to write off entirely.
"It's Subjective": an experiment in why we like what we like
http://www.filmspotting.net/forum/index.php?topic=9585.msg558331#msg558331

oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #335 on: November 24, 2010, 07:48:55 PM »
Yay for White Ribbon.

I will now link to my review of the film.

Yeah, I read your review just after I finished the film. Good job.  I think, like Cache, there is more to the story than is openly seen.  I think there is a hint in that final church scene, but I'm not sure what it is yet.
"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 #336 on: November 24, 2010, 09:31:20 PM »
I am with oldkid, I admire the craft but am put off by the coldness of Hanake's films.  I am glad that the movie has the little romance, and despite my worst expectations, nothing terrible happened to these two.  The romance seems tacked on, and doesn't really contribute to the story, but it gives the movie a glimmer of humanity and warmth.
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.

chardy999

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #337 on: November 28, 2010, 03:36:05 AM »
I am with oldkid, I admire the craft but am put off by the coldness of Hanake's films.  I am glad that the movie has the little romance, and despite my worst expectations, nothing terrible happened to these two.  The romance seems tacked on, and doesn't really contribute to the story, but it gives the movie a glimmer of humanity and warmth.

Without that small amount of spirit, it may have been as tough a watch as Time of the Wolf. He is always on that edge between unbearable and captivating. So much pain.
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oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #338 on: November 29, 2010, 12:00:05 PM »
He is always on that edge between unbearable and captivating.

And I think this is why I am hooked on him right now.  That balance is just so excellent.  Perhaps I am truly a masochist in nature?
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

chardy999

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #339 on: November 30, 2010, 06:07:08 AM »
He is always on that edge between unbearable and captivating.

And I think this is why I am hooked on him right now.  That balance is just so excellent.  Perhaps I am truly a masochist in nature?

I've often thought that about myself but then I realise that inkling pales in comparison to Haneke's himself. I'd have a hard time believing he doesn't enjoy the sick things he is filming to some extent. Like, it's a bit too perfect if you know what I mean.  :o
Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others.
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