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Reply #90 posted 02/20/08 12:03pm

heartbeatocean

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DevotedPuppy said:

heartbeatocean said:



Spare me. I love how when a film does not satisfy a person's mainstream expectations about how a film should be, (by satisfying a carthartic need for escapist PLEASURE), then the film is deemed a horrific film. This armchair film critic didn't even bother to listen to what the film is actually saying, which is much deeper than a typical shoot-em-up Western with good guy vs. bad guy. God forbid, a film with violence actually speaks ABOUT violence, that is the perpetuity of violence and the ultimate human confrontation with death. But I guess she wants everything to be neat and tidy at the end, where the good guy ends up alive and the bad guy ends up dead -- because then she could feel good. smile There's more to movie watching than feeling good, but I realize a lot of people don't see it that way.



falloff You have no idea how wrong you are about my friend wanting films that make her feel good. She is possibly the only person I know who is more cynical than me. That's probably one reason we're friends (and I *hate* when films have happy endings.) lol Anyway, I haven't seen the film, don't intend to, couldn't care less about the ending---I was just trying to help sextonseven out and I knew she had written about it on her blog.

I can't speak as to whether her assessment of the film was good or not (and you seem to think it's off base), but I will stick up for her and say she is absolutely NOT the type of person who needs a happy ending, nor is she into "feel good" movies, or mainstream expectations. You are way off base with your interpretation of her. smile And I don't think she intends her blog to be any ground breaking film criticism...she likes to write, so I think it's almost a form of practice for her...


Fair enough. I'm just projecting my frustrations with people's attitudes toward challenging films in general. It's like people want to take a pill and forget about life by watching movies, so they miss out on the value of a movie that makes them think. I do think her critique is off base though, and from reading it, it does seem that the film did not fulfill her expectations. So she judges it according to her expectations, rather than on its own terms.
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Reply #91 posted 02/20/08 2:21pm

DiminutiveRock
er

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heartbeatocean said:

Fair enough. I'm just projecting my frustrations with people's attitudes toward challenging films in general. It's like people want to take a pill and forget about life by watching movies, so they miss out on the value of a movie that makes them think. I do think her critique is off base though, and from reading it, it does seem that the film did not fulfill her expectations. So she judges it according to her expectations, rather than on its own terms.



I agree with you.

Does that make us film snobs? boxed
VOTE....EARLY
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Reply #92 posted 02/21/08 3:02pm

sextonseven

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I saw Michael Clayton last night. EXCELLENT.

I saw Juno on Tuesday. It was very good. It got better in the second half. There were too many zingers in the dialogue in the first half--it was hard to keep up. Or maybe I just got used to it after awhile.

Now that I've seen all the best picture movies, I can concentrate on other categories. Four of the five films in the foreign category haven't opened in the states yet. confused
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Reply #93 posted 02/22/08 12:42pm

Stymie

sextonseven said:

I saw Michael Clayton last night. EXCELLENT.

I saw Juno on Tuesday. It was very good. It got better in the second half. There were too many zingers in the dialogue in the first half--it was hard to keep up. Or maybe I just got used to it after awhile.

Now that I've seen all the best picture movies, I can concentrate on other categories. Four of the five films in the foreign category haven't opened in the states yet. confused
Damn, you've seen them all? There is a theatre in downtown Chicago showing all five movies tomorrow for 30 bucks. If I wasn't so swamped with homework, I'd do. sad
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Reply #94 posted 02/22/08 2:27pm

sextonseven

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Stymie said:

sextonseven said:

I saw Michael Clayton last night. EXCELLENT.

I saw Juno on Tuesday. It was very good. It got better in the second half. There were too many zingers in the dialogue in the first half--it was hard to keep up. Or maybe I just got used to it after awhile.

Now that I've seen all the best picture movies, I can concentrate on other categories. Four of the five films in the foreign category haven't opened in the states yet. confused
Damn, you've seen them all? There is a theatre in downtown Chicago showing all five movies tomorrow for 30 bucks. If I wasn't so swamped with homework, I'd do. sad


I was on a serious mission this month. Before the nominations were announced, I had only seen:

American Gangster
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
I'm Not There
La Vie En Rose
Sweeney Todd

Since then, I've seen the following nominated films:

Across The Universe
Atonement
Away From Her
Beaufort
The Bourne Ultimatum
Charlie Wilson's War
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Eastern Promises
Gone Baby Gone
Into The Wild
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country For Old Men
No End In Sight
Once
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End
Persepolis
The Savages
Sicko
Surf's Up
There Will Be Blood
3:10 To Yuma
Transformers

I'm gonna try and watch The Assassination of Jesse James, In The Valley of Elah and Ratatouille this weekend before the awards on Sunday night. Then I will sleep for a week straight. dead

spelling
[Edited 2/22/08 14:28pm]
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Reply #95 posted 02/22/08 2:33pm

Stymie

sextonseven said:

Stymie said:

Damn, you've seen them all? There is a theatre in downtown Chicago showing all five movies tomorrow for 30 bucks. If I wasn't so swamped with homework, I'd do. sad


I was on a serious mission this month. Before the nominations were announced, I had only seen:

American Gangster
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
I'm Not There
La Vie En Rose
Sweeney Todd

Since then, I've seen the following nominated films:

Across The Universe
Atonement
Away From Her
Beaufort
The Bourne Ultimatum
Charlie Wilson's War
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Eastern Promises
Gone Baby Gone
Into The Wild
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country For Old Men
No End In Sight
Once
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End
Persepolis
The Savages
Sicko
Surf's Up
There Will Be Blood
3:10 To Yuma
Transformers

I'm gonna try and watch The Assassination of Jesse James, In The Valley of Elah and Ratatouille this weekend before the awards on Sunday night. Then I will sleep for a week straight. dead

spelling
[Edited 2/22/08 14:28pm]
The awards are Sunday? eek

I won't be home. bawl
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Reply #96 posted 02/22/08 2:45pm

sextonseven

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Stymie said:

sextonseven said:



I was on a serious mission this month. Before the nominations were announced, I had only seen:

American Gangster
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
I'm Not There
La Vie En Rose
Sweeney Todd

Since then, I've seen the following nominated films:

Across The Universe
Atonement
Away From Her
Beaufort
The Bourne Ultimatum
Charlie Wilson's War
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Eastern Promises
Gone Baby Gone
Into The Wild
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country For Old Men
No End In Sight
Once
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End
Persepolis
The Savages
Sicko
Surf's Up
There Will Be Blood
3:10 To Yuma
Transformers

I'm gonna try and watch The Assassination of Jesse James, In The Valley of Elah and Ratatouille this weekend before the awards on Sunday night. Then I will sleep for a week straight. dead

spelling
[Edited 2/22/08 14:28pm]
The awards are Sunday? eek

I won't be home. bawl


comfort I'm sure it will be a big bore anyway.
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Reply #97 posted 02/22/08 2:52pm

DiminutiveRock
er

avatar

sextonseven said:

Stymie said:

The awards are Sunday? eek

I won't be home. bawl


comfort I'm sure it will be a big bore anyway.


Probably, but I'm serving yummy snacks biggrin
VOTE....EARLY
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Reply #98 posted 02/22/08 5:41pm

Stymie

Well, I jut got back from the video store and rented:

Michael Clayton
Gone Baby Gone
3:10 To Yuma
In The Valley of Elah
Sicko
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Reply #99 posted 02/22/08 6:05pm

greenpixies

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heartbeatocean said:

sextonseven said:



I'm all for throwing a curve ball to the audience, but that one was so limp. I'm complaning more about the screenplay than anything else. The direction, acting and cinematography were all excellent. And is the whole film really about the Sherriff accepting his death? The entire first half was a buildup to the final showdown between Llewelyn and the hitman and it happened off camera. What a letdown.


I like movies that have major events happen off-camera. I see your point, but that's why I think the film is ultimately about the sheriff and the perpetual cycle of violence. The sheriff is the real counterpoint to the psycho. He's contemplative, ineffective, retiring. My friend and I discussed at length the scene where the sheriff goes back to the motel and looks around the room in the dark. The psycho is supposedly behind the door, but doesn't kill him. The scene is very mysterious.

Llewellyn is a less complex character than the sheriff. He keeps chasing money when it obviously leads to his own doom and everyone else's around him. Though seemingly benign, he is heavily caught up in the violence, almost to the point of abetting the psycho. Look at how many people get killed because of him dragging that suitcase of money around. He's a foil that helps play out the extreme violence of the psycho, but the film is not about him.

An apt comparison is one of the greatest films ever made, Psycho, by Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock kills off the main character, played by Janet Leigh, in the first act. She is the only point of identification for the audience and no one had ever done this before in a film. It broke all the rules and is supposed to be frustrating. From that point on, the only point of identification we have is with Norman Bates. We have to identify with him from that moment on and the film ends on him alone in an insane asylum. It's a pretty queasy feeling when that's all we're left with. The whole thing is chilling, and killing off the character we liked most was a great way to achieve that affect.

Also, by ending on a description of the Sheriff's dream, I find the film suddenly launches into a spiritual realm. By ending that way, it leaves us there, teetering between life and death. He is telling a dream about his father, and it has an ancestral, timeless, primordial feel to it. The movie itself feels like death, because it suddenly turns its back on its own story, a string of torrid events, which are part and parcel of the earth's existence. As the world writhes perpetually in its endless chase and emptiness, the sheriff is approaching a state of transcendence...which will only come about by his own death.

That's one interpretation anyway.


Interesting interpretation! I need to see it again because I knew that I was missing key elements when I couldn't hear Tommy Lee Jones' dialogue because of the crappy audio at the theater. It's definitely a movie you have to see more than once.
America's political system used to be about the "pursuit of happiness." Now more and more of us want to stop chasing it and have it delivered.
"Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other."-
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Reply #100 posted 02/23/08 3:36am

heartbeatocean

avatar

DiminutiveRocker said:

heartbeatocean said:

Fair enough. I'm just projecting my frustrations with people's attitudes toward challenging films in general. It's like people want to take a pill and forget about life by watching movies, so they miss out on the value of a movie that makes them think. I do think her critique is off base though, and from reading it, it does seem that the film did not fulfill her expectations. So she judges it according to her expectations, rather than on its own terms.



I agree with you.

Does that make us film snobs? boxed


nod I'll be the first to admit I'm film snob. queen
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Reply #101 posted 02/23/08 3:40am

heartbeatocean

avatar

sextonseven said:

Stymie said:

Damn, you've seen them all? There is a theatre in downtown Chicago showing all five movies tomorrow for 30 bucks. If I wasn't so swamped with homework, I'd do. sad


I was on a serious mission this month. Before the nominations were announced, I had only seen:

American Gangster
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
I'm Not There
La Vie En Rose
Sweeney Todd

Since then, I've seen the following nominated films:

Across The Universe
Atonement
Away From Her
Beaufort
The Bourne Ultimatum
Charlie Wilson's War
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Eastern Promises
Gone Baby Gone
Into The Wild
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country For Old Men
No End In Sight
Once
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End
Persepolis
The Savages
Sicko
Surf's Up
There Will Be Blood
3:10 To Yuma
Transformers

I'm gonna try and watch The Assassination of Jesse James, In The Valley of Elah and Ratatouille this weekend before the awards on Sunday night. Then I will sleep for a week straight. dead

spelling
[Edited 2/22/08 14:28pm]

eek clapping

Last year I was a slacker in watching movies, so this year I have a goal of seeing at least 100... that's 8.33333 movies per month. biggrin Starting to slack again this month though. sad So you must have gotten over your fear of going to movie theaters alone?
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Reply #102 posted 02/23/08 8:18am

Isel

greenpixies said:

heartbeatocean said:



I like movies that have major events happen off-camera. I see your point, but that's why I think the film is ultimately about the sheriff and the perpetual cycle of violence. The sheriff is the real counterpoint to the psycho. He's contemplative, ineffective, retiring. My friend and I discussed at length the scene where the sheriff goes back to the motel and looks around the room in the dark. The psycho is supposedly behind the door, but doesn't kill him. The scene is very mysterious.

Llewellyn is a less complex character than the sheriff. He keeps chasing money when it obviously leads to his own doom and everyone else's around him. Though seemingly benign, he is heavily caught up in the violence, almost to the point of abetting the psycho. Look at how many people get killed because of him dragging that suitcase of money around. He's a foil that helps play out the extreme violence of the psycho, but the film is not about him.

An apt comparison is one of the greatest films ever made, Psycho, by Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock kills off the main character, played by Janet Leigh, in the first act. She is the only point of identification for the audience and no one had ever done this before in a film. It broke all the rules and is supposed to be frustrating. From that point on, the only point of identification we have is with Norman Bates. We have to identify with him from that moment on and the film ends on him alone in an insane asylum. It's a pretty queasy feeling when that's all we're left with. The whole thing is chilling, and killing off the character we liked most was a great way to achieve that affect.

Also, by ending on a description of the Sheriff's dream, I find the film suddenly launches into a spiritual realm. By ending that way, it leaves us there, teetering between life and death. He is telling a dream about his father, and it has an ancestral, timeless, primordial feel to it. The movie itself feels like death, because it suddenly turns its back on its own story, a string of torrid events, which are part and parcel of the earth's existence. As the world writhes perpetually in its endless chase and emptiness, the sheriff is approaching a state of transcendence...which will only come about by his own death.

That's one interpretation anyway.


Interesting interpretation! I need to see it again because I knew that I was missing key elements when I couldn't hear Tommy Lee Jones' dialogue because of the crappy audio at the theater. It's definitely a movie you have to see more than once.



Regarding the sheriff, Cormac Mcarthy's book from which the screenplay was adapted gives more insight into his character. The sheriff serves as narrator, so the whole book is told from his point-of-view. It's a very quick, short read if any of you are interested and the screenplay--the plot at least does follow the book generally speaking. But in the book, the sheriff's narration sort of drives the plot... a bit more.
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Reply #103 posted 02/23/08 4:50pm

Martinelli

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Assassination of Jesse James is teh best film of the year..
But since it aint nominated I'll take 'No country..'

sorry but American gangster was a hot mess..& Denzel sucked
donkey balls in it..As I agree with Blanchet not deserving her
nom this time around..Casey Affleck deserves best supporting but
it will go 2 Bardem. cool

My second fave this year: This Is England.

...Your coochie gonna swell up and fall apart...
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Reply #104 posted 02/24/08 2:43am

HamsterHuey

Martinelli said:



My second fave this year: This Is England.



GOOD movie
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Reply #105 posted 02/24/08 11:36am

greenpixies

avatar

Isel said:

greenpixies said:



Interesting interpretation! I need to see it again because I knew that I was missing key elements when I couldn't hear Tommy Lee Jones' dialogue because of the crappy audio at the theater. It's definitely a movie you have to see more than once.



Regarding the sheriff, Cormac Mcarthy's book from which the screenplay was adapted gives more insight into his character. The sheriff serves as narrator, so the whole book is told from his point-of-view. It's a very quick, short read if any of you are interested and the screenplay--the plot at least does follow the book generally speaking. But in the book, the sheriff's narration sort of drives the plot... a bit more.



Yes, I'm interested in reading the book. We'll see if I can get to it soon.
America's political system used to be about the "pursuit of happiness." Now more and more of us want to stop chasing it and have it delivered.
"Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other."-
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Reply #106 posted 02/24/08 3:26pm

PANDURITO

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Is there a live Oscar thread?

Link please? boxed
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Reply #107 posted 02/24/08 4:49pm

raveun2thejoyf
antastic

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eye wish U were here baby, on me--
Stuck like glue! heart
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Reply #108 posted 02/24/08 4:55pm

abierman

I hate Clooney.....pout.....his girlfriend is too drool
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Reply #109 posted 02/24/08 5:04pm

Jude418

There are so many boring pre-shows... I miss Kathy Griffin.
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Reply #110 posted 02/24/08 5:04pm

JustErin

avatar

abierman said:

I hate Clooney.....pout.....his girlfriend is too drool


Why do you hate him? He seems like a nice, cool dude.

I don't find him attractive, though.
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Reply #111 posted 02/24/08 5:06pm

Jude418

What's going on with Travolta's hair!!??
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Reply #112 posted 02/24/08 5:12pm

JustErin

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Jude418 said:

What's going on with Travolta's hair!!??


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Reply #113 posted 02/24/08 5:21pm

PANDURITO

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excited 10 minutes to go

time to microwave the popcorn smile
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Reply #114 posted 02/24/08 5:34pm

IstenSzek

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WTF? both "The Assasination of Jesse James" and "There Will Be Blood"
have the most fantastic scores. and they're both not nominated?

as far as animated short films go i say woot! peter and the wolf woot!
and true love lives on lollipops and crisps
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Reply #115 posted 02/24/08 5:37pm

abierman

JustErin said:

abierman said:

I hate Clooney.....pout.....his girlfriend is too drool


Why do you hate him? He seems like a nice, cool dude.

I don't find him attractive, though.



lol I agree with you.....I actually like him.....I just hate him for having such a drool-girlfriend! neutral
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Reply #116 posted 02/24/08 5:40pm

purplewisdom

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Tough decision on Best picture..!!

i hope there will be blood wins it.
"Dead in the middle of Little Italy little did we know
that we riddled some middleman who didn't do diddily"--BP
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Reply #117 posted 02/24/08 5:41pm

nammie

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Are we all busy watching the show to comment on the dry lame ass one-liners lol
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Reply #118 posted 02/24/08 5:42pm

purplewisdom

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hahahah this Political jab is excellent!!

Good to see spike lee and wesley snipes together!
"Dead in the middle of Little Italy little did we know
that we riddled some middleman who didn't do diddily"--BP
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Reply #119 posted 02/24/08 5:42pm

abierman

purplewisdom said:

Tough decision on Best picture..!!

i hope there will be blood wins it.



either that one or No Country.....
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