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notapplicable
Feb 21, 2009, 2:58 AM
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jt512 wrote: notapplicable wrote: There Will Be Blood is a towering achievement that will loom large over the landscape of American cinema for years to come. ... The house with the bowling alley from the final scene is just around the corner from my place. Coincidentally, it is the house that an ex-girlfriend of mine grew up in. Jay
Nice. I read they spent a lot of time and care restoring the bowling alley for filming and basically donated the work in exchange for using the building. It's publicly owned now isn't it?
Either way, it's a beautiful old home, kind made me cringe and laugh at the same time to see him shooting up the foyer like that.
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jt512
Feb 21, 2009, 3:02 AM
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notapplicable wrote: jt512 wrote: notapplicable wrote: There Will Be Blood is a towering achievement that will loom large over the landscape of American cinema for years to come. ... The house with the bowling alley from the final scene is just around the corner from my place. Coincidentally, it is the house that an ex-girlfriend of mine grew up in. Jay Nice. I read they spent a lot of time and care restoring the bowling alley for filming and basically donated the work in exchange for using the building. It's publicly owned now isn't it? Either way, it's a beautiful old home, kind made me cringe and laugh at the same time to see him shooting up the foyer like that.
There are no signs on it to suggest that it is publicly owned. I thought it was still a private residence. It looks like the roof needs work, which seems odd, considering the value of the property.
Jay
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notapplicable
Feb 21, 2009, 3:14 AM
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jt512 wrote: notapplicable wrote: jt512 wrote: notapplicable wrote: There Will Be Blood is a towering achievement that will loom large over the landscape of American cinema for years to come. ... The house with the bowling alley from the final scene is just around the corner from my place. Coincidentally, it is the house that an ex-girlfriend of mine grew up in. Jay Nice. I read they spent a lot of time and care restoring the bowling alley for filming and basically donated the work in exchange for using the building. It's publicly owned now isn't it? Either way, it's a beautiful old home, kind made me cringe and laugh at the same time to see him shooting up the foyer like that. There are no signs on it to suggest that it is publicly owned. I thought it was still a private residence. It looks like the roof needs work, which seems odd, considering the value of the property. Jay
Google knows everything.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greystone_Mansion
In reply to: In 1963, Crown planned to subdivide the property and demolish the mansion. Beverly Hills stopped the demolition by purchasing the mansion in 1965.[3] The estate became a city park on September 16, 1971, and on April 23, 1976 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[2] The city leased the mansion to the American Film Institute, from 1965 to 1982, for $1 per year, hoping to get repair and upkeep work from the institute.[3] |
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notapplicable
Feb 26, 2009, 7:43 AM
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Those god damned, cock sucking, mother whoring, sons of bitches at the Academy and their god damned, cock sucking, mother whoring, son of a bitch willingness to follow the prevailing and fickle winds of political correctness. God damn them.
No, by all accounts 2008 was not a landmark year for American cinema. There were some fine efforts though and unfortunately the "Best Picture" nominee list didn't fully represent the best of the year. Personally I would have substituted Doubt for Frost Nixon because I thought it was ultimately more elegent and impactful but they were both great and essentially comparable. A minor issue really compared to the odd and ultimately (relatively speaking) disastrous snubbing of The Wrestler in favor of Slumdog Millionaire.
As beautifully filmed and entertaining as Slumdog was, it didn't rightly belong on the list of nominees at all and is entirely undeserving of it's "Best picture" Oscar. The problem is, once it's on that list it is free to be picked up by the political and emotional headwinds and blown across the finishline before anyone sees whats happening. In a year when we have strained international relations, a crumbling economy and a need for hope, it was entirely too easy to vote for a feel good story of economic prosperity set in a beautifully filmed foreign land. Looked at objectively though, it just doesn't belong among the ranks of films like Crash, Million Dollar Baby, American Beauty, Forest Gump, Unforgiven, Amadeus, Ordinary People, Etc.
"Best Picture" means the combination of excellence in all elements of film making and Slumdog fell short in the areas of direction, script development/writing and most glaringly acting. If you look back at Best Picture winners of the last 50 years, they are almost all anchored by powerful and inspired performances by the leading actors and at times the entire cast. Unfortunately Slumdog didn't have a single memorable performance and the good but ultimately mediocre nature of the rest of the production was not enough to place it at the top of the years best. The only one from recent years that didn't have that anchoring performance was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and although Lost In Translation should have won that year, TLOTR was superior in so many other elements that it's place at the top can be justified.
This reminds me a lot of 10 years ago when Shakespeare In Love beat out 4 superior films for the top slot. I certainly hope they don't intend to make a tradition of this. As I scan down through the list of past winners, Slumdog stands out as a glaring flaw on a list of other wise fine works of art that generally represent a very highpoint (if not the highest point) in the medium, in that year. Unfortunately sometimes people let their feelings and politics take over and mediocrity finds a hole to slip through.
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notapplicable
Feb 26, 2009, 9:18 AM
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Hell, Slumdog Millionair isn't even Danny Boyles best work. It is perhaps his most ambitious but ultimately it falls to 4th place behind Trainspotting, Shallow Grave and 28 days later. At the end of the day it's City Of God but produced for daytime TV.
I don't even mind that it was an over the top rehash of old devices, most movies are, it's the execution that fell short. It was set in such a stunning and (for American Cinema) rarely explored place that, treated with a bit of patient musing and a more sober eye towards realism, it could have easily lived up to all it's current hype. If he had worried more about casting and coaching his actors and a bit less about portraying moral lessons through the mere positioning of the characters in place and circumstance, he may have created something impactful. The opposing morality of the brothers is obvious and necessary for the story but everything that shows that dichotomy feels staged to lend that impression. I didn't feel like I was watching in as people lived their lives, I felt like I was watching actors being used to tell a story and ultimately that is a short coming of the director/actor team.
Edited to add: I should say that I enjoyed Slumdog when I saw it in the theater and it surpasses 97% of other movies released last year (there were 640+ in total). I'm just annoyed that so many other people thought it was in any way more deserving of "Best Picture" than The Wrestler or MILK. It's not all about how much you personally liked the movie (although that should play a role), there are technical considerations as well.
(This post was edited by notapplicable on Feb 26, 2009, 9:27 AM)
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sungam
Mar 5, 2009, 2:08 AM
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notapplicable wrote: There Will Be Blood is a towering achievement that will loom large over the landscape of American cinema for years to come. ...
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sungam
Mar 5, 2009, 2:09 AM
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Gaia damn! 2 days till WATCHMEN hits the screens. I don't think I've ever been so excited for a film to come out, but I just luuuvvveddd the comic so damn much.
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sungam
Mar 5, 2009, 7:47 AM
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Just watched "death at a funeral". NA, you'd love it.
Complete with class A drugs, full male nudity (no penish is shown) and midget porn (I shit you not!! though you don't get to see it ).
Completely hilarious. I reccomend to anyone who appreciates dark humor.
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kachoong
Mar 5, 2009, 2:34 PM
Post #159 of 302
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sungam wrote: Gaia damn! 2 days till WATCHMEN hits the screens. I don't think I've ever been so excited for a film to come out, but I just luuuvvveddd the comic so damn much.
Me too! Should be nice to see something dark for a change with very little "good guy" heroics in it.
btw... anyone seen In Bruges? Great film! Saw it for the second time last week.... good to see Colin Ferrell's natural funny side.
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notapplicable
Mar 5, 2009, 2:52 PM
Post #160 of 302
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sungam wrote: Just watched "death at a funeral". NA, you'd love it. Complete with class A drugs, full male nudity (no penish is shown) and midget porn (I shit you not!! though you don't get to see it ). Completely hilarious. I reccomend to anyone who appreciates dark humor.
Yeah I watched that 5-6 months ago, it was pretty damn funny. That was fucked up when he was trying to help the old man up off the toilet though, made me cringe just watching it.
I wish more funerals were like that. They would almost be worth the time and effort if you could get a good story to tell out of it all.
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notapplicable
Mar 5, 2009, 3:01 PM
Post #161 of 302
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kachoong wrote: sungam wrote: Gaia damn! 2 days till WATCHMEN hits the screens. I don't think I've ever been so excited for a film to come out, but I just luuuvvveddd the comic so damn much. Me too! Should be nice to see something dark for a change with very little "good guy" heroics in it. btw... anyone seen In Bruges? Great film! Saw it for the second time last week.... good to see Colin Ferrell's natural funny side.
Yeah, I think it was 4-5 pages back but Magnus and I pretty much agreed that, that was one of the best/funniest scripts in a long time. Even when I wasn't laughing, I was just totally absorbed by the flow and delivery of the dialogue.
*Antecdotal Note Of Interest* - That was the directors first movie too. He has worked in theater for awhile but In Bruges was a really strong debut. I'm looking forward to what ever he does next.
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kachoong
Mar 5, 2009, 3:08 PM
Post #162 of 302
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notapplicable wrote: kachoong wrote: sungam wrote: Gaia damn! 2 days till WATCHMEN hits the screens. I don't think I've ever been so excited for a film to come out, but I just luuuvvveddd the comic so damn much. Me too! Should be nice to see something dark for a change with very little "good guy" heroics in it. btw... anyone seen In Bruges? Great film! Saw it for the second time last week.... good to see Colin Ferrell's natural funny side. Yeah, I think it was 4-5 pages back but Magnus and I pretty much agreed that, that was one of the best/funniest scripts in a long time. Even when I wasn't laughing, I was just totally absorbed by the flow and delivery of the dialogue. *Antecdotal Note Of Interest* - That was the directors first movie too. He has worked in theater for awhile but In Bruges was a really strong debut. I'm looking forward to what ever he does next.
The first time I watched it, my roommate at the time had to put the subtitles on... he's from Mississippi, so I understood  .... anyway, that distracted me a bit as I could understand everything, so when I watched it last week with my wife (her first time seeing it) we left the subtitles off.... after all, it is English.
Interesting point about the director... I never knew that! The story really does flow very well. The part where he decks those two Canadians thinking they're Americans is hilarious! 
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carabiner96
Mar 5, 2009, 3:31 PM
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notapplicable wrote: sungam wrote: Just watched "death at a funeral". NA, you'd love it. Complete with class A drugs, full male nudity (no penish is shown) and midget porn (I shit you not!! though you don't get to see it ). Completely hilarious. I reccomend to anyone who appreciates dark humor. Yeah I watched that 5-6 months ago, it was pretty damn funny. That was fucked up when he was trying to help the old man up off the toilet though, made me cringe just watching it. I wish more funerals were like that. They would almost be worth the time and effort if you could get a good story to tell out of it all.
I actually bought that movie, and I rarely buy movies! It's a good one to whip out when you and friends want a movie thats not will-ferrel-stupid but not a drama.
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sungam
Mar 5, 2009, 6:09 PM
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I <3ed that movie. It was hilariois.
NA, the finishing line in death at a funeral... .
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sungam
Mar 7, 2009, 5:50 AM
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HOLY SHIT WATCHMEN WAS GOOD.
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jt512
Mar 7, 2009, 6:05 AM
Post #166 of 302
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sungam wrote: HOLY SHIT WATCHMEN WAS GOOD.
Yeah, I saw it today, too, and thought it was fantastic. I don't know why it has been getting such mediocre reviews.
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squierbypetzl
Moderator
Mar 9, 2009, 1:03 AM
Post #167 of 302
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jt512 wrote: sungam wrote: HOLY SHIT WATCHMEN WAS GOOD. Yeah, I saw it today, too, and thought it was fantastic. I don't know why it has been getting such mediocre reviews.
Pushing on 3 hours, it was kind of long (beer makes it b3t3rr).
I thoroughly enjoyed the film. 300 meets Sin City in style, perhaps somewhat violent for some (I found it refreshing. Finally, heroes with personal issues who bleed and make others bleed and no pussyfooting around), and the soundtrack wasn´t on par with say Shrek 1 but it was quite good (especially the opening theme). Solid 9 in my book. Great movie.
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squierbypetzl
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Mar 9, 2009, 1:48 AM
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edit: I miss the old days when people could watch videos online and not care about copyrights.
(This post was edited by squierbypetzl on Mar 10, 2009, 7:51 PM)
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notapplicable
Mar 23, 2009, 6:29 AM
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jt512 wrote: sungam wrote: HOLY SHIT WATCHMEN WAS GOOD. Yeah, I saw it today, too, and thought it was fantastic. I don't know why it has been getting such mediocre reviews.
I think a lot of critics had a hard time getting past the violence and melancholic (nihalistic even) tone of the film. Same thing happened when 7 pounds hit theaters. Certain personality types simply can't be entertained by such bleak subject matter, no matter how wonderfully realized.
That and I though it had a measured, almost meditative feel to it at times. American audiences have lost all patience for such treatments.
Ah well, fuck em. Film critics are like weather men any way. Wrong most of the time and when they are right, there is no clear indication it was anything but a coincidence.
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notapplicable
Mar 23, 2009, 6:37 AM
Post #170 of 302
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squierbypetzl wrote: jt512 wrote: sungam wrote: HOLY SHIT WATCHMEN WAS GOOD. Yeah, I saw it today, too, and thought it was fantastic. I don't know why it has been getting such mediocre reviews. Pushing on 3 hours, it was kind of long (beer makes it b3t3rr). I thoroughly enjoyed the film. 300 meets Sin City in style, perhaps somewhat violent for some (I found it refreshing. Finally, heroes with personal issues who bleed and make others bleed and no pussyfooting around), and the soundtrack wasn´t on par with say Shrek 1 but it was quite good (especially the opening theme). Solid 9 in my book. Great movie.
I thought the graphic and unapologetic portrayal of violence helped to keep the elements that could have felt corny, from feeling corny. The whole "normal people as costumed super heroes" thing could have come off as cheesy, but the adult themes helped it fit. Helped it feel real.
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jt512
Mar 23, 2009, 7:04 AM
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Here's one not to miss: Duplicity. Way better than the trailer makes it seem.
Jay
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notapplicable
Mar 23, 2009, 7:36 AM
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jt512 wrote: Here's one not to miss: Duplicity. Way better than the trailer makes it seem. Jay
Excellent.
When I saw the trailor I was undecided. Then I found out it's from the same writer/director as Michael Clayton. That alone was enough to convince me to give it a chance.
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churningindawake
Mar 23, 2009, 3:45 PM
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squierbypetzl wrote: edit: I miss the old days when people could watch videos online and not care about copyrights.
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notapplicable
Mar 25, 2009, 3:58 AM
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I've been reading little blurbs and hearing rumors of a Swedish vampire film for awhile now. Supposedly the most original thing to come out of the genre in the last 15 years. Needless to say, as a long standing fan of vampire lore, I was more than a little intrigued. Well I just rented Let The Right Ones In http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/ the other night and I was blown away. Not only is it a revitalization of the genre, it's a re-invention! Before I start though, I should say that this is not a traditional vamp movie and does not center around vamp culture, so don't let that deter you. There are many elements of traditional lore but more than anything this is simply a poignant human drama, in which one character (in her own words) "lives off blood".
Ok. This is one of the most (if not the most) significant horror films of the 21st century. The only three that come close are the equally unique and arresting 28 Days Later, The Devil's Backbone and Oldboy. It is undoubtedly the most technically (with respect to film making in general and the genre itself) flawless execution since Stanley Kubrick turned his attention to horror with The Shining. The tension and mystery builds in a smooth and measured fashion through the very end, while the violence comes swift and visceral. The whole film is infused with this sublime and haunting stillness. Every moment so tender in it's portrayal of the melancholy and isolation of abandoned youth.
The story centers around two youthes (in form at least) who are brought together by a lack of significant emotional connection to their respective worlds. One is the twelve year old Oskar who lives with his single mother in a small suburb of Stockholm, during the economically bleak year of 1982. Bullying by his peers and a lack of solid connection with his father has left him withdrawn and looking to establish some control in his life. The other is the somber and lithely androgynous Eli. Eli has been traveling with an older pedophile and serial killer who she uses to procure her food, thereby masking her eating habits and identity. They see in each other a chance at being understood and embraced for who they truly are. A cautious kinship is born. {{In the end you may be left with some questions concerning the actual sex of Eli's character. The movie is based on a book and there is a back story to what you see and hear so you can either look it up or just PM me}}
There are several stand out elements of style and execution but the key ingredient lending this film it's power, are the performances of the lead actors. Never have I seen such nuanced crafting of the more subtle human emotions from such novice players. It's relatively easy to elicit joy, fear, anger and even a semblance of sadness from a younger, less experienced actor. Bemusement, loneliness, shame, embarrassment and tentativeness are so much more difficult for even the veterans of the medium. Yet these two perfectly capture the emotional tone of characters who have lived lives far divorced from the experiences of your average child. I just can't speak highly enough of these two.
In a decade where we have seen the same dull rip off of The Ring made over and over and over and over again, LTROI is a welcome breath of fresh air. It's out on DVD/Blu-ray now, go rent it.
(This post was edited by notapplicable on Mar 26, 2009, 7:40 AM)
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notapplicable
Mar 25, 2009, 4:29 AM
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For the last few days I have been really torn between Let The Right Ones In and The Lives Of Others(I may write this up later but be sure not to miss it) as my pick for the "must watch" 2008 release and essentially it is a tie. Can't have that though, so I'll let my thematic bias be the deciding factor. LTROI is my official selection. You've never seen anything like it, so don't miss it. {{"American release only" selection would be - The Wrestler}}
Although 2008 wasn't exactly a stand out year for film in general, I've found myself watching more and more European and Asian releases. Has anyone else noticed that American audiences, and therefore studios, have lost all patience for movies that don't run full tilt. Doesn't matter the theme or genre, takes are shorter and shorter, directors aren't willing to hold a shot for even a second or two after the action of the scene is done, no screen time is given to simple movements around a room or just letting an actors face do the talking. There are a few hold outs, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Thomas Anderson, Stanley Kubrick before he died, etc... but they are the fringe.
The Europeans are really leading the charge with intelligent, meditative and impactful film making.
(This post was edited by notapplicable on Mar 26, 2009, 2:30 AM)
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