Author Topic: 1SOs End of the Year Hit List  (Read 20351 times)

Pratters

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Re: 1SOs 2010 Hit List
« Reply #30 on: December 20, 2010, 02:18:49 AM »
I like watching different kinds of movies. That is the main reason I am trying to watch as many of the Oscar Foreign Language submissions as I can. From all accounts, this is a completely out of the box film. I don't actually know what the movie is about and stuff and I don't want to know that. I try to shut myself from any thing about a film till I have watching it. That it is different is good enough for me. Even if I don't like it, I don't mind it as long as I have a new experience. That it is creating extreme reactions of like and dislike is all the more reason to watch it. :) Also, I am a very open minded person, so don't see myself shutting out most things.
« Last Edit: December 20, 2010, 02:20:50 AM by Pratters »

1SO

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Re: 1SOs 2010 Hit List
« Reply #31 on: December 20, 2010, 10:03:28 PM »
THE TOWN

If The Town gets nominated for Best Picture it will be in the District 9 slot, the pulp thriller that wouldn't have a chance if there were only 5 nominees.  Personally, I liked D9 a lot more.

The Town is a barely passable thriller with slightly above average writing, directing and acting.  All the elements are given proper lip service and nothing feels emotionally deep.  Affleck still shows a lot of potential behind the camera (and does fine in front of it), but Gone Baby Gone is a much better film.

For 2010 this ranks one place above Tron: Legacy and just below The Disappearance of Alice Creed.

Melvil

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Re: 1SOs 2010 Hit List
« Reply #32 on: December 20, 2010, 10:06:18 PM »
Sounds about right. Very forgettable. Personally I think District 9 had a lot more going for it to justify it's nomination.

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Re: 1SOs 2010 Hit List
« Reply #33 on: December 21, 2010, 03:08:41 PM »
My brief review of Black Swan is in the Spoiler Thread.

FarfetchFilm

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Re: 1SOs 2010 Hit List
« Reply #34 on: December 21, 2010, 06:12:56 PM »
The Town is based on ordinary material (the screenplay apprently improves the novel's story/ending) though Ben Affleck's direction is unbelievable classy, its like watching (lesse Scorsese) Casino or Gangs of New York, ordinary script with a lack of heart but very well acted, entertaining, well shot and just solid genre-filmmaking.

1SO

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Re: 1SOs 2010 Hit List
« Reply #35 on: December 23, 2010, 12:08:14 AM »
In the Spoiler Thread...

True Grit

Here's the non-spoiler version...

I liked True Grit, but didn't love it.  While there's some occasionally funny bits of dialogue, this isn't a very fun movie.  It's way too talky for its own good.  And I'm good with a dialogue-heavy film if the scenes are interesting, but a lot of the time they're just talking almost with no point other than passing the time.

I've seen both versions of the book, PLUS I've actually read the book.  This is the most dry and deadpan of the three, almost like the Coens were being overly faithful to the text.  Sometimes they made good adjustments to the original story.  Smart choices that condensed the narrative or defined the characters much more sharply.  Just as often they seemed unsure what to do with a scene and just played it straight.  This feels like a work for hire more than any other project they've given us (except Ladykillers).  A couple of months ago I made the comment that because this is the Coens there's going to be some weird scene or subplot not hinted at in the trailer.  Turns out there isn't and I really missed that.

The strangest moment is the guy in the bear coat, and it's strange because the acting is terrible and the camera lets him go on way too long.  Again, he's just filmed in a boring medium frame leaving you nothing to look at, just that obnoxious performance.

Most of the cast is good.  Barry Pepper is channeling Robert Duvall so well it's kind of freaky.  The best work is by Matt Damon (again).  He just continues to impress me in film after film.  There were lines that I didn't think could work.  I think he's the most complex and interesting character.

The book is a fun piece of pulp, full of fun dialogue like something Elmore Leonard would come up with.  The John Wayne version takes the bones of the story to make a very old-fashioned western that does the job without being exceptional in any way.  The Coens play things a little too straight.  Usually ones to bring rough edges to a project, they flatten everything out to a smooth consistency.  The trailer suggests a super cool badass shoot-em-up and the film is nothing of the kind.  And that's too bad.  In fact, for all of the original's technical imperfections I'd have to say it's a better movie.  

To quote The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."


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Re: 1SOs 2010 Hit List
« Reply #36 on: December 23, 2010, 10:49:31 AM »
Red Riding Trilogy

The best thing about the three films that make up the Red Riding Trilogy is how it all connects.  

The first film gets quickly distracted by Rebecca Hall (not that I blame anyone for that), and focuses on how much Andrew Garfield is in over his head.  I like how he knows so little but bullishly runs into danger all the time.  It's admirable how much of a death wish his character seems to have, as he investigates a case that has seemingly little to do with the swan-winged dead girl.

The second film sets up a more straight-ahead serial killer story, however Paddy Considine - who's always great but has been much better - gets bogged down in his unsolved multiple homicide and a thick veil of police corruption.  It feels aimless for a time, but builds to the most powerful conclusion of the trilogy.

It's the third film where we see how these seemingly unrelated cases are all actually the same case.  After feeling like the dead girls were just a framing device for other stories, I liked how it all came together.  As for the trilogy, I liked the cast and it's satisfactory overall but I was disinterested a lot of the time.  At least it's never as absurd as the Millennium Trilogy.

I feel like the time would've been better spent watching Carlos.
GRADE: B-
« Last Edit: December 23, 2010, 11:11:03 AM by 1SO »

Bondo

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Re: 1SOs 2010 Hit List
« Reply #37 on: December 23, 2010, 11:06:59 AM »
Andrew, not Alan :)

Bummer that you didn't like it more. It ultimately didn't hold up to my initial high view (slid to a B+ overall) but I did rather like it. I'm still not convinced that Carlos would be a better use of my time since Carlos is long AND subtitled. :o

FroHam X

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Re: 1SOs 2010 Hit List
« Reply #38 on: December 23, 2010, 11:30:44 AM »
Carlos has a lot less subtitles than you'd think. Because all the characters are from different countries they mostly speak to each other in English.
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Re: 1SOs 2010 Hit List
« Reply #39 on: December 24, 2010, 01:15:37 AM »
Winter's Bone

Am I the only one besides johnnyd who didn't care for this film?  Jennifer Lawrence is fine.  John Hawkes is excellent, by far the best part of the film.  The location filming is a definite plus, but if Debra Granik wasn't interested in the story than she should have just made a documentary about the society.

Every scene and every piece of dialogue moves the plot forward.

Couldn't disagree more.  About half of the film has nothing to do with the plot.  The plot comes on like a nuisance, taking valuable time away from the observational moments.  Watching Ree raise the children and survive.  I wish Granik would be honest and not try to say there's a story here, then I could enjoy the film the way I did Wendy & Lucy or something by Ramin Bahrani.  (Would love to see him tackle the same material.)  I'm pulling punches because I know how much people love this movie.  Had I seen it a year ago I'd be calling it a colossal waste of our time and John Hawkes talent.
GRADE: C-

 

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