Author Topic: Respond to the last movie you watched (Jan 2011 - Nov 2013)  (Read 2532154 times)

Junior

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #1670 on: February 05, 2011, 10:22:07 PM »
All movies are the same!
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Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #1671 on: February 05, 2011, 10:22:39 PM »
Only one has John Hawkes.  ;)

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #1672 on: February 05, 2011, 11:03:00 PM »
Dogtooth

The cat did it.

smirnoff

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #1673 on: February 05, 2011, 11:39:19 PM »
Mother
(Joon-ho Bong, 2009)

This Joon-ho Bong guy sure knows how to create and maintain tension. Granted it's not always that complicated (e.g. have a old woman cut herbs with a huge blade and then draw her attention away from her work), it's effective though. Sometimes he winds you up and leaves you hanging, other times BAM! It puts you on guard, keeps you alert.

I went into this blind but optimistic. I'm not sure that was a good move. The opening credits scared me. What kind of dialogue-less, arty-farty nonsense was I in for, I wondered. It took a good while for the movie to earn back my trust. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop in the form of unnecessarily long and revealing shower scene or something, and director commentary in my head would say "look, I'm showing you this old woman's wrinkly ass. Isn't that shocking and deep?"

Fortunately there is no such pretentiousness here, just pitch perfect storytelling. Philistines like myself should find it most enjoyable.

Filmspot note: Hmm, too bad this didn't get a director nod (I know it was close). I'll blame myself for not seeing it sooner. It should do well on my ballot where possible at least.

Garwalker

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #1674 on: February 06, 2011, 01:30:11 AM »
I had a 3 movie day.

The Green Hornet - Better that I thought it would be. Not great but it's a fun movie.

King's Speech - I'm not big on these type of films but I can recognize why people like this movie so much.  Firth did a great job and I would not be disappointed if he won the academy award.

Dogtooth - This is actually why I felt the need to join the filmspotting forums.  Can I please get my hour and a half back?  Worst movie I've watched since Antichrist.  There were a couple of funny parts but I have absolutely no comprehension how this makes two of the four top 10 movies.  True Grit is not mentioned but this crap got two peoples top 4 movies of 2010.  Do yourself a favor and avoid this movie.  Filmspotting failed me big time on this one.  But it's okay because I watched Un Prophet last night and loved it so I'm going to give Filmspotting a pass on this.
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Bondo

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #1675 on: February 06, 2011, 01:45:52 AM »
Antichrist was also a good movie, just like Dogtooth :)

The Dark Knight

In my first post-theatrical viewing, I have some reconsiderations of The Dark Knight...and a new director rises to the top of my best directors list.

verbALs

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #1676 on: February 06, 2011, 02:48:16 AM »
Welcome Garwalker!

Restrepo
An Afghani man and his fruit juice pack, looking it over, prodding the hole with the straw while the American military representative keeps on speaking. You forget the words almost immediately, but the absent-minded fiddlings stay.
This moment stood out to me, too - wish I could go back in time and nominate it for a Filmspot.

Beautiful write-up.

This moment was a false note for me. It said 'look at the poor uncivilised fool unable to deal with our superior Western packaging.' Well I have trouble with those juice packs, don't you? You get a face full of juice if you're not careful!!
Otherwise your review was great. You captured that sense from the film of the ancient quality to the lives these people lead. To me it summed up the sense that the troops were only there for six months, so how could they hope to affect the lives of these people who would live there forever. Only the idea that they were there to bring 'the road' into the valley that would change their lives gave their presence any meaning at all.

Dogtooth

The cat did it.

"Absurdity... can also serve great value in helping us laugh at ourselves, realize the ridiculousness of our own behavior and help ourselves gain a little humility in a world built around stroking egos."
Very good Sam. Wasn't expecting to read such meaningful insight over my Weetabix this morning. ;D
« Last Edit: February 06, 2011, 02:59:14 AM by verbALs »
I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don't do that so much anymore. - Banksy

flieger

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #1677 on: February 06, 2011, 04:27:06 AM »
This moment was a false note for me. It said 'look at the poor uncivilised fool unable to deal with our superior Western packaging.' Well I have trouble with those juice packs, don't you? You get a face full of juice if you're not careful!!

Nah. There were so many ironies embedded in that image and his distracted pondering of the item.
Then again, for all I know he might have been thinking "I really want this orange and mango juice pack now, but would it be bad form if I just started drinking in the middle of a meeting?" *prods the straw hole* "I should wait. Probably squirt everywhere anyhow..."

MartinTeller

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #1678 on: February 06, 2011, 04:28:07 AM »
The Fighter - This was better than I expected, but I had very low expectations.  I'm not sure which is worse: Wahlberg's sleepwalking through his role, or Bale's (extremely overrated, as always) scenery-chewing.  I get that he's portraying a clownish personality, but you gotta know when to dial it down a little.  Maybe he was overcompensating for Wahlberg's apparent lack of interest.  While we're talking about the performances, Melissa Leo doesn't deserve any nominations for this, and Amy Adams even less so.  And the film is formulaic and clichéd to the extreme, right down to the training montages.  And yet, it's an effective formula and I found myself engaged despite the lack of anything exceptional.  I think what really works is the dynamic between the characters, the conflict between Micky's family life and his professional life.  Again, it's nothing special... but it works.  Surprisingly watchable, yet unremarkable.  Rating: 6


Life is Beautiful - I was dead certain I would hate this movie.  My fear was that at best, it would be sentimental tripe, and at worst, a highly offensive soft-pedaling of the Holocaust.  And it is both of those things... but only to a small degree.  What I was unprepared for is how well Benigni transcends these obstacles.  It definitely wasn't the atrocity I envisioned (something like what I imagine The Day the Clown Cried to be).  The film is really quite charming, often beautiful, and genuinely moving.  The first hour (before all the shit hits the fan, to put it lightly) is especially good, with Benigni's courtship of Nicoletta Braschi providing some really fine moments of humor (and a couple of not-so-fine ones, but they're easily overlooked).  Benigni seems a bit too delighted with himself, but he definitely has some talent for comedy, particularly in his use of callbacks.  Continuing the comedy into the second half it something that just shouldn't work, but he pulls it off, and for the most part balances the lightness and tragedy very well.  Admittedly, it's a fantasy version of a concentration camp, and it puts a bad taste in your mouth if you dwell on that fact too much.  But if you accept the movie on its own terms, it has its rewards.  Rating: 8

verbALs

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #1679 on: February 06, 2011, 05:10:23 AM »
This moment was a false note for me. It said 'look at the poor uncivilised fool unable to deal with our superior Western packaging.' Well I have trouble with those juice packs, don't you? You get a face full of juice if you're not careful!!

Nah. There were so many ironies embedded in that image and his distracted pondering of the item.
Then again, for all I know he might have been thinking "I really want this orange and mango juice pack now, but would it be bad form if I just started drinking in the middle of a meeting?" *prods the straw hole* "I should wait. Probably squirt everywhere anyhow..."

;D or if it squirts in my face I would rather not have that happen with a camera pointing at me.
I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don't do that so much anymore. - Banksy

 

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