Author Topic: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon  (Read 75488 times)

oldkid

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 19044
  • Hi there! Feed me worlds!
Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #340 on: November 30, 2010, 11:53:03 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?

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

I hadn't thought of that.  But you could say that about a lot of directors, really.  Oldboy?
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

chardy999

  • Elite Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 3550
Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #341 on: December 01, 2010, 02:22:19 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

I hadn't thought of that.  But you could say that about a lot of directors, really.  Oldboy?

Yeah but Chan-wook Park's films don't show a pattern of these tendencies - like he has a revenge trilogy but even in that things are more symbolic; more shocking than painful to watch.
Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others.
- Groucho Marx

oldkid

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 19044
  • Hi there! Feed me worlds!
Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #342 on: December 08, 2010, 08:40:31 PM »
I just wanted to let all the followers of this marathon know-- I haven't forgotten about it.  I've just been ill and very busy these last few weeks and haven't had much energy to write more than a paragraph.  But I have a long list of films to catch up on, and I will.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

oldkid

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 19044
  • Hi there! Feed me worlds!
Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #343 on: December 14, 2010, 08:07:11 PM »
The cold didn't kill me, so we've got the return of the marathon!  (Honestly, I've been watching marathon movies all along so I've got 17 reviews to catch up on, and the Man With No Name Trilogy waiting for me to watch.  So much work, so little time!)

The Big Sleep


I frankly have avoided this film for years.  It’s not that I don’t like Bogie—he’s good for the occasional anti-hero.  But I really didn’t care for The Maltese Falcon and that film and this were strongly connected in my mind.  They were both Bogie noir based on classic detective novels of the 30s.   So if I disliked the one, I should dislike the other, right?

Not at all.  The big difference for me comes in the main characters: Sam Spade v. Philip Marlowe.  Frankly, Sam Spade has few redeeming qualities, and I strongly disliked him.  It must be to Bogie’s credit that just as much as I disliked his Sam Spade, I really enjoyed his Philip Marlowe. Marlowe was funny, smart, laughs easily and is much more enjoyable to spend time with.  And he doesn’t consider violence the first resort, especially in dealing with women.  I appreciate that.



Technical—5/5--In all probability, another aspect I really appreciated about The Big Sleep over MF is the direction in general.  Howard Hawks is one of my favorite directors and I love his dialogue-filled, constantly moving films.  This isn’t as frantic as some of his films, but it certainly has his touch.  Having William Faulkner as a writer for this film couldn’t hurt, either.  The script is smart and the dialogue rich.  And, most of all, the film was humorous throughout, which I didn’t expect, although I should have with Hawks at the helm.
Interest—4/5—Although most of the other characters aren’t as interesting as Marlowe, of course Bacall is fantastic and the plot is interesting.  I can’t say that I was as interested in the mystery itself, but it was fun getting there.
Tension—4/5—There are some real tense moments in there, especially in a couple of the shootouts and in the involvement of Bacall’s sister.
Characters—3/5—It’s difficult to pinpoint my feeling of the characters of this film.  Frankly, few of them were believable.  They were all movie stereotypes (and I recognize that this film helped to create some of these stereotypes) except for Marlowe, who wasn’t really the hard-boiled detective, or perhaps he was but didn’t always act like it.



Emotional—3/5— Because I didn’t buy most of the characters, their dilemmas weren’t very compelling for me.  Certainly I was tense when someone got shot, but overall it didn’t matter.
Theme—2/5—I didn’t really catch much of a theme here.
Ethics—3/5—I don’t think the movie is encouraging us to think about ethics, other than the illegality of shooting people for financial reasons.  There is a moment in the DA’s office where Marlowe’s style of solving a crime is held against a police procedure.  The main thing seems to be that Marlowe’s style, although he lies, leaves dead bodies around, spends questionable time with women and sets people up to be shot, but he gets the job done (and he has friends in high places).  That seems to be good enough for the DA, so it should be good enough for us?  Hmmmm.


The real ethical question: Should Bacall be smoking?  In public?

Personal—3/5—I related to Marlowe’s easygoing style, although it is not my own, and I did relate to his use of humor to ease tensions. 

A good movie, really enjoyable.  One I will probably watch again.  But it wasn’t so enjoyable that I’d put it 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. 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. The Big Sleep
40. Three Kings
41. Y Tu Mama Tambien
42. The White Ribbon
43. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
44. The Science of Sleep
45. Grizzly Man
46. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
47. Scarecrow
48. Fitzcaraldo
49. Zelig
50. Harold and Maude
51. Repulsion
52. Mister Roberts
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Melvil

  • Godfather
  • *****
  • Posts: 9977
  • Eek
Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #344 on: December 14, 2010, 08:20:42 PM »
Interesting read. I just watched this last week and was very meh about it. You make a lot of good points, and while I agree with most of the downsides, I think I just wasn't as into the upsides as you were.

1SO

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36129
  • Marathon Man
Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #345 on: December 14, 2010, 09:17:06 PM »
I enjoy The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon.  I own Falcon, and am not in a rush to own Sleep even though I know I'll watch it again someday.  Don't know what holds me back with sleep since I love Hawks.  Don't even mind how complicated the plot is cause the dialogue and character interactions are so choice.  Don't know.  They're both better than To Have and Have Not, but I guess I'll take In A Lonely Place over all of them.

Bondo

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 23082
Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #346 on: December 14, 2010, 09:20:29 PM »
Apparently at this point I'm just meh on Bogie, holding aside Casablanca. But then classic noir has always left me cold. I'd be hard pressed to think of one that I have rated higher than 3/5.

chardy999

  • Elite Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 3550
Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #347 on: December 15, 2010, 05:17:38 AM »
I gave The Big Sleep a good rating but cannot remember any of the small plot points you mentioned which is probably indicative of how much it cares about evoking a response from its audience beyond "this is fun, that was pretty cool, man, Bacall is smoking hot."
Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others.
- Groucho Marx

oldkid

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 19044
  • Hi there! Feed me worlds!
Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #348 on: January 10, 2011, 02:18:56 AM »
I know that you all have truly missed the marathoning, here.  However, I lost my list of movies and reviews when my computer crashed, and then I've been insanely busy because I've been running a growing organization and night shelters in my spare time.  But RIGHT NOW, while I'm sitting around at the night shelter, I'll re-create my list, try to re-write my review of The Big Lebowski, and then we'll see if I can get myself back in shape to continue running this marathon!

« Last Edit: January 10, 2011, 02:24:48 AM by oldkid »
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

michael x

  • Elite Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1207
Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #349 on: January 10, 2011, 09:30:21 AM »
I'll be looking forward to it, whenever you get the chance to restart.

 

love