Author Topic: Respond to the last movie you watched (Jan 2011 - Nov 2013)  (Read 2532436 times)

oneaprilday

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #14730 on: August 20, 2012, 12:54:18 PM »
Your mood at the time has to have a lot to do with where you fall.
Yes, probably true - though, somehow, my mood has fit perfectly with every Sirk I've seen. :) 

(And, incidentally, don't you think this description of Sirk could be a description of Almodovar?)
I run hot and cold with Pedro, and I know he's a big Sirk fan. Perhaps appreciating Sirk will make me a bigger fan of Almodovar.
I certainly think that appreciating Sirk set me up for appreciating Broken Embraces; I'm not sure what I would have made of it, had I not seen some Sirk first.  As it was, I fell for the melodrama of BE completely (and there is, in fact, a specific reference to Sirk in BE).

I can't wait to hear what you think of All That Heaven Allows and Magnificent Obsession!
Even with my shark-like focus on my marathoning, I will make time for these
Wonderful!

Lobby

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #14731 on: August 20, 2012, 05:18:40 PM »
The Rules of the Game (La règle du jeu, Jean Renoir, FR, 1939)

Clueless about the greatness of The Rules of the Game

OK. I'm not going to say "the emperor is naked". I really won't. I put all of the blame on myself, so there's no need for you to get infuriated by what I'm going to say now.

I know there are many of you who have a lot more knowledge about the film medium than I have. Maybe you've attended some film classes where you've analyzed every single shot of the film I'm going to talk about. You might very well regard it as a revered deity in the temple of cinema, and who am I to come here and tell you anything else?

Everyone loves The Rules of the Game. Everyone but me. It ended up as #4 in the recent Sight & Sound poll. And over 800 critics can't possibly be wrong. TSPDT puts it even slightly higher, at #3.

Just think of it! How many movies have been made since the birth of cinema? Thousands and thousands and yet thousands. And Rules of the Game is on third place! It should be a mighty good movie, shouldn't it?

In case the aggregated critic lists hadn't convinced me about its greatness, there were a ton of quotes by famous directors on the DVD cover who assured me that this was a film I really had to watch.

Bernardo Bertolucci claimed it was the best movie he's ever seen. Truffaut said it's "The bible for all true film lovers. This is the movie of movies". Robert Altman had learned how to make film from it and Paul Schrader witnessed that it was "quick, spiritual, innovative and entertaining. For me there's no better film".

How sad, how embarrassing on my part that I couldn't see what was so great or fun or entertaining.

I saw some upper class people assembling at a castle where they alternately go on rabbit hunts or pursuit their objects of desire of the opposite sex. Occasionally their servants did similar things, although they used traps instead of guns for killing the rabbits. I was waiting and waiting and waiting for something to happen, something dramatic. But when it finally did, after all this waiting, it was quite anticlimactic.

Plucked eyebrows
Three thoughts crossed my mind as I watched it:

1. The camerawork was odd with a lot of shots taken from a very low angle pointing up to the sky. If it was good or not I'm not I'm not sure, but it was noticeable.

2. Everyone in aristocracy had plucked eyebrows. The women's eyebrows were most extreme, but the men plucked their eyebrows too. Was it fashionable at that time?

3. Back in the 30s people didn't object to harsh treatment of animals in film recordings.  Poor rabbits.

I didn't laugh, I didn't cry, I didn't get pulled into the world of those people. It just didn't grab me, despite the fact that I'm usually a sucker for movies about upper-class people moping around at castles, being miserable under the watching eyes of their servants.

I know this film comes with a story. Apparently it caused an outrage by the theatre audience, was later on stopped by the censorship and then banned by the nazi occupants of France. For years it was believed lost to the world until someone found a few hidden copies in the 50s, which were saved and restored.

But a good back story isn't a guarantee for a good movie. There must be something about this film that I'm blind to - something that has charmed hundreds or even thousands of critics over the world.

If you're one of the lovers of this movie, please help me out. Tell me what's so great about it and help me open my eyes. I'd much rather be on the winning team, cheering for the success of a beloved film, than sitting in the corner of the clueless where I'm dwelling at the moment.

 My rating: 1,5/5
« Last Edit: August 20, 2012, 05:23:00 PM by Lobby »
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1SO

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #14732 on: August 20, 2012, 06:09:15 PM »
I've watched Rules of the Game 3 times now, every few years, because not only do I not agree with or understand the acclaim, I find it to be one of the most forgettable films I've seen. 3 viewings and I can't tell you what happens in it.

jbissell

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #14733 on: August 20, 2012, 06:14:47 PM »
Jack And Jill 2/10

This is not the worst movie ever made. It's definitely not good but there's this certain weird sweetness to it. I'm not going to bother getting into what is bad about it because it's all right there in the trailer. Instead, I'll talk about the 2 moments that made me laugh like a jackass. The first is a running gag with Jack's adopted son. He loves tape. We learn this because of different cutaways at Thanksgiving dinner. First he has a turkey taped to his stomach, then the salt shaker to his head. It's just a perfect, dumb cutaway joke that barely is even mentioned. The second is when Jill goes on her first Internet date with Norm MacDonald(!). It's the standard scene where Norm excuses himself from dinner and Jill eventually checks the bathroom, only to find that he has split. Nothing new. Except after Jill checks the bathroom stall and then leaves, the camera pans up to Norm up on the ceiling, clutching the lighting fixture. If it had been anyone other than Norm, I might not have laughed as much. But it was terrific. Also, the whole Pacino thing certainly needs to be addressed. It's either one of the most embarrassing performances from a respected actor or a brave attempt at comedy from someone generally considered to be a very serious actor. I think I lean towards the embarrassing side, but I have to admit that it was pretty fun to watch the shame spiral.

FLYmeatwad

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #14734 on: August 20, 2012, 06:18:04 PM »
Haven't seen it, but I bet it's no That's My Boy. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssssssssssssssssssuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

jbissell

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #14735 on: August 20, 2012, 06:21:28 PM »
Who's up for a Douglas Sirk marathon, because I'm ready.

I thought you had seen All That Heaven Allows? It's a lock for my top 100 this year and WotW has a shot.

Bondo

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #14736 on: August 20, 2012, 06:21:40 PM »
The Emperor has no clothes!

Watching Rules of the Game gave me the same feeling as reading F. Scott Fitzgerald, which is to say the distinct impression that I don't give a single crap about the minor drama of rich people.

ses

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #14737 on: August 20, 2012, 06:25:02 PM »
Who's up for a Douglas Sirk marathon, because I'm ready.

I thought you had seen All That Heaven Allows? It's a lock for my top 100 this year and WotW has a shot.

Me, it's a definite blind spot for me.
"It's a fool who looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart"

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1SO

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #14738 on: August 20, 2012, 06:57:20 PM »
Unstoppable
(Directed by Tony Scott)

This is not a review. No way it could be. I wasn't watching this to critique it but out of respect. Now I have seen every Tony Scott film. Watching it was certainly odd because Scott is first and foremost a technical craftsman. Bringing the recent tragedy into the viewing makes this the most emotional I've ever felt during a Tony Scott film. I'm not looking to retcon Tony Scott and exalt him as one of the greatest directors of all time. Just be honest about his ability to entertain the hell out of me.

Tony could take any script and working within the studio system turn it into his own personal arthouse project. Even something as down the middle and cliche-filled as Unstoppable contains his artistic stamp. A style that had grown increasingly erratic, but that he nicely plays in a lower gear here. While all the obvious beats pile up, Scott shoots everything into a nice glossy package that I will miss.

My favorite moment from Unstoppable isn't all the high-octane excitement, but a small exchange of dialogue between Chris Pine and Denzel Washington (who worked with Mr. Scott 5 times.) Talking about their families Denzel mentions that his two daughters worked as waitresses to pay for college. When Pine asks where they worked, Denzel fesses up "Hooters". He then tells Pine to wipe that smile off his face. A slight subversion of the cliche through humor, joyfully handled by the actors. 

Tony Scott made some good films. Made some bad films. Made a couple of awesome films. He took a Tarantino script and made it better. He will be missed.

1SO

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #14739 on: August 20, 2012, 06:57:34 PM »
Who's up for a Douglas Sirk marathon, because I'm ready.
I thought you had seen All That Heaven Allows? It's a lock for my top 100 this year and WotW has a shot.

I thought I had too, but I was wrong.