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Author Topic: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon  (Read 75449 times)

Bondo

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #360 on: March 10, 2011, 12:26:30 PM »
I try not to use the word pretentious casually so that it has more power when I apply it to a movie like Synecdoche, NY. Ugh! :)

Bill Thompson

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #361 on: March 10, 2011, 01:20:07 PM »
I try not to use the word pretentious casually so that it has more power when I apply it to a movie like Synecdoche, NY. Ugh! :)

 ::)

Melvil

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #362 on: March 10, 2011, 01:22:03 PM »
Very nice review! It's a movie that has grown on me the more it has sat, and as I've revisited it.

Tension—2/5—There isn’t really much tension in the script.  It is just one damn event after another, and while they are all connected on the surface, one thing doesn’t really lead to another.  Events come out of nowhere, unexpectedly.  Thus, no tension is really built.  The only tension, again, is the meaning of the film.

I wanted to address this point, because I think the film has magnificent tension. It isn't really a story tension, but a mood and thematic tension. The drama is continuously escalated by the events of the story, building more and more into the fever-dream world Caden inhabits by the end. The very end also provides a perfect release of tension, so I know it's there! ;)

I also disagree that there is little pleasure in watching it. It's actually a really funny film, and as you say, intellectually fascinating, which gives me more than enough entertainment value. At 22, I don't necessarily relate to Caden, but I enjoy the portrayal of his plight.

I try not to use the word pretentious casually so that it has more power when I apply it to a movie like Synecdoche, NY. Ugh! :)

I don't really object to calling it pretentious, but I think it's pretentious in the best possible way! :)

Bondo

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #363 on: March 10, 2011, 01:41:52 PM »
I try not to use the word pretentious casually so that it has more power when I apply it to a movie like Synecdoche, NY. Ugh! :)

 ::)

Thanks for the fantastic contribution to the discussion.

MartinTeller

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #364 on: March 10, 2011, 01:56:27 PM »
I really, really try to avoid using the word "pretentious" but I don't mind it being used to describe SNY.  And don't get me wrong, I like that movie (to the point where I've nearly bought it several times) but it's hard to shake that feeling of "oh Charlie, you are trying way too hard". 

I'm a huge sucker for Tom Noonan, though.

Bill Thompson

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #365 on: March 10, 2011, 02:24:34 PM »
I try not to use the word pretentious casually so that it has more power when I apply it to a movie like Synecdoche, NY. Ugh! :)

 ::)

Thanks for the fantastic contribution to the discussion.

That's all that your comment needed from me, you didn't make me smile you made me roll your eyes, all there is to it.

oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #366 on: March 11, 2011, 10:19:31 AM »
The Apartment



Billy Wilder is an amazing director, not that he wrote and directed such popular movies, but that so many of his movies are seen as classics more than 50-60 years after they were made.  His movies consistently have stellar performances, often better than the stars shine in films apart from his own.   And many of his films regularly make top lists of all time, including Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity, and Some Like It Hot, and he stands with Akira Kurosawa, Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorcese as being among the most praised directors of all time.   The Apartment, about C.C. Baxter making his journey from milquetoast to mature man, is one of Wilder’s most popular and highly praised films.

Technical—As Wilder films are opt to be, The Apartment is practically perfect.  A perfectly honed script, fantastic performances by Lemon and MacLaine,  cinematography that may not be the most interesting, but is very functional, especially for a story that exists mostly in offices and apartments.   As if we didn’t know, Wilder knows how to make a film.

Interest—3/5—Here’s my problem with the film, and it is personal, not having to do with the film itself.  I find upward mobility in an office setting to be stifling, even to watch from the outside.  It is great to see the characters grow and become something more than an office flunky, but getting there is so dull for me.  The best thing to watch was the performances.



Tension—3/5—There wasn’t much tension, except for his relation with his neighbors when MacLaine was knocked out in his bed.  The tension of him maintaining his clearly false “tiger” persona in the face of truth coming to haunt him was pretty tense.  

Emotional—3/5—Again, the plot didn’t hold a lot of interest for me, so I didn’t feel very much, except for Fran and her dilemma.



Characters—5/5—Like the Big Lebowski, most of the characters didn’t interest me at all, but Lemon and MacLaine were marvelous, possibly giving the best performances of their careers.   Their chemistry rapport were fantastic and I loved the scenes of them together.  When C.C. gets them to play chess, that was great, so real.

Theme—4/5—Love is greater than ambition.   Sure, its cliché, but it’s a believable cliché here.

Ethics—4/5—I love how we are dropped in the middle of C.C.’s dilemma, with little context of how he ended up loaning out his apartment for his boss’ infidelities.  We don’t need to see what a wimp he is, the situation speaks for itself.  Even when he asserts himself, it is clear who has the power.  At the same time, we know that C.C. has no power because he has granted himself no power.  When he stands at the end we can feel the ethical backbone forming.



Personal—1/5—There was really no personal identification with this film, which is not the fault of the film at all.  It just had no real connection with my life.

This is an enjoyable film and I can say that I can see why it is considered a great film.  But my personal lack of empathy for the characters' situation reduces it in my personal rankings.



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

1SO

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #367 on: March 11, 2011, 10:31:42 AM »
I enjoy how many of your films have been a part of my 2 mega-marathons. Interesting read cause I get the sense that you esteem The Apartment, but don't really embrace it.
Here was my brief take with plenty of FroHam fallout following.

oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #368 on: March 11, 2011, 10:43:53 AM »
1SO, it seems that your main issue with the film is the change of tone, how this film is overwhelmingly melancholic, even though it seems to be on the surface, a screwball comedy.  I personally find the change of tone to be interesting.  If I had gone in expecting a screwball comedy, that might have been disappointing, but frankly, I like the Apartment better than, say, Some Like It Hot, a pretty straightforward comedy.  The comedy in that film was too broad for my taste.  This film is human with a couple of real characters struggling through life.  I guess I might compare it to Punch-Drunk Love in tone, which is not necessarily a bad thing.  Different, unexpected, but not bad.

Again, my issue with it is the lack of personal connection.  It is a well made film, with great performances, but it just didn't do anything for me, personally.
"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 #369 on: March 11, 2011, 09:50:47 PM »
Don't know if I'm weird or not but I have little personal connection to anything that happens in most movies. When movies have great characters then I connect to the story through them. I connect to their struggles and their obstacles. The Apartment is one of those films for me.
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