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Befade |
Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 9:50 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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Inla.........Speaking of Julie & Julia.........and cooking. I'm spending Thanksgiving with my son's family in southern CA. My daughter-in-law is quite the gourmet. She's placed her turkey dinner order with Whole Foods. In the meantime I've gotten out my Indian cookbooks and planning to attempt some rice recipes. (I found the cardamon pods at Whole Foods.)
I'm glad you were impressed with This is It. I'm tempted to see it. Once in CA there will be more movie choices. I'm psyched for Precious because of Monique. I watched her video of a women's prison visit she made in Ohio. I was impressed at her humanitarianism and her humor. The inmates really responded to her.
Billy.......Yes the humor in A Serious Man was outrageous. And it was a difficult movie to watch because the Jewish suburban life of the 60's was not inspiring.....and the events portrayed were no fun. I hope Gary will get to see this movie and report on the unique Jewishness of it. It was the most memorable of the 3 movies I saw. There were vivid close-up shots of basically unbecoming faces. I have to admit I liked the character Michael Stuhlbarg played. His affect was so calm it was reassuring.......of course he did raise his eyebrows time and again.
I'm not sure what the Coens were aiming for with such an unusual film. Something about the meaning of life? Are we alive or dead? Why do we ask God so many questions? And why do we get so few answers? Is life bizarre, ultimately tragic, impossible to control? I should have watched the whole episode of the Coens interview with Charlie Rose. I'll do it online......when I'm up to it.
Earl........I liked the Paris movie more than the New York one.....probably because the focus on the young couples interactions weren't very heart-warming. And the appearance of Bradley Cooper, Orlando Bloom, and Ethan Hawke had no positive affect on that. I can't imagine Jerusalem....Why not Tel Aviv......or Bangkok.....or Berlin.....or London..? |
_________________ Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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gromit |
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 2:14 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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I can't see Jarmusch's The Limits of Control getting much traction here. It's an ultra-minimalist plot with a hitman going through a pretty empty routine over and over. He does wear sharp metallic-coloured suits and has interesting cheekbones, and we get some tourist shots of various parts of Spain as he moves along his appointed journey.
He meets several contacts at cafes, but these don't result in dialog or even real interactions, as our protagonist usually says nothing (the password is a mild play on this, as they first confirm that he doesn't speak the language), so our visitors offer up silly monologues about art that Jarmusch seemingly intended to be intriguing or amusing.
Basically Jarmusch tries to remake Le Samurai, but with a black lead (cause blaxploitation was cool, you know), as informed by geeky Tarantino-style homages and a vague whiff of Lynch. It's also a pastiche of Jarmusch's earlier films, an existential journey as in Dead Man, combined with a Ghost Dog theme, with a good deal of Cigarettes and Coffee time-wasting at cafes and brief skit-like off-beat, silly monologues.
Jarmusch tries to add a little intrigue by having our enigmatic main character listen to classical music, go to art museums to focus on his task, and practice tai chi.
It all seemed rather sophomoric to me, especially the always nude Spanish girl, the half-formed New Agey/Zen ideas, and the vaguely identified corporate baddies (complete with black helicopters). It's really a film about mood and ritual, and otherwise stretches and compresses time to eschew plot and avoid conventional narrative.
I thought it seemed like a parody of Le Samurai and silent action heroes like Eastwood and Bronson, while it made a Jarmush out of existential hipness. The Zen of the matter is that you can further minimize its minimalism by skipping it altogether. You'll never get those two hours back, so you might as well save them for after your dead. |
_________________ Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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billyweeds |
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:22 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Betsy--In a year of wonderful male star performances, my favorite so far is Michael Stuhlbarg's in A Serious Man. His character became real and iconic at the same time, no mean feat. |
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marantzo |
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:06 pm |
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Thanks for dropping in and once again writing an entertaining an uniquely inla run down on things leading to this year's uncle Oscars, inla.
Betsy, I will surely see A Serious Man when it gets here, which I hope will be before I leave. I do know St. Louis Park as I've mentioned before, and other American (mostly) Jewish suburbs like Highland Park in Chicago and Woodmere (5 Towns which you get a glimpse of in Goodfellas) on Long Island. In Winnipeg it was River Heights. My friends and I grew up in the North End where the immigrants settled when they first came to Winnipeg. River Heights was the South End where the newly wealthy and mainly conservative leaning Jews moved. We referred to them as the south end snobs. The liberal well to do Jews stayed in the North End till the mid 50's when they started moving south. We moved in '57. |
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lady wakasa |
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:54 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 5911
Location: Beyond the Blue Horizon
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Well, I didn't get to see Where the Wild Things Are mainly because Annoying Friend Who Always Calls at Dinnertime called last night, and I thought it was my sister so I picked up.
Maybe I'll try again tonight; we'll see.
(Well, it's not just her timing; for several reasons she's sliding down the friendship chart, here.) |
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Befade |
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 1:36 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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Lady.......you must insist on taking care of yourself, babying yourself........and the only way to do that is to see the movies you want to see when you want to see them. So to friend: "Gee.......I wish I could talk but I'm heading out to see a movie.....Call you later....."
Gary......this suburb was the dullest I've ever seen. I don't know where it was filmed but the Coens grew up in Minnesota. It was flat. Just grass, no landscaping, hardly any trees. All houses the same......rectangular boxes with driveways leading to separate garages. Part of the film's drama was between the Jewish family and the Goy neighbor and the sultry, heavily mascaraed, pot smoking Jewish housewife.
Billy......had you known of Stuhlbarg before or did he come out of nowhere? |
_________________ Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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marantzo |
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 2:02 pm |
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I don't know where they filmed it either, but it was St. Louis Park that they were depicting. That's where they grew up. |
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billyweeds |
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 2:24 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Befade wrote:
Billy......had you known of Stuhlbarg before or did he come out of nowhere?
Stuhlbarg is a highly respected NYC stage actor whom I saw in The Pillow Man on Broadway, which he handily stole from Jeff Goldblum, Željko Ivanek, and Billy Crudup all in one fell swoop. |
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inlareviewer |
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:37 pm |
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Joined: 05 Jul 2004
Posts: 1949
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Befade wrote: Inla.........Speaking of Julie & Julia.........and cooking. I'm spending Thanksgiving with my son's family in southern CA. My daughter-in-law is quite the gourmet. She's placed her turkey dinner order with Whole Foods. In the meantime I've gotten out my Indian cookbooks and planning to attempt some rice recipes. (I found the cardamon pods at Whole Foods.)
I'm glad you were impressed with This is It. I'm tempted to see it. Once in CA there will be more movie choices. I'm psyched for Precious because of Monique. I watched her video of a women's prison visit she made in Ohio. I was impressed at her humanitarianism and her humor. The inmates really responded to her. Cardamon, yum. Yeah, I was very impressed with This is It. Didn't expect to be, it could have been maudlin or reverential or tabloidal or any number of things, and it just wasn't. Some astonishing, vintage Michael Jackson singing/dancing, and, all else apart, it's touching to see Jacko on form and in such apparently happy spirits. As for Precious, have already been warned by colleagues that it will devastate me, but will be there the minute personal matters and my last remaining nerve ending (count it) permit.
marantzo wrote: Thanks for dropping in and once again writing an entertaining an uniquely inla run down on things leading to this year's uncle Oscars, inla. Well, you're welcome, it's recreational for me, though am never quite sure if it's so for others, so that's nice to hear. Am thinking that it's going to be an unusually interesting fillum prize rodeo this time, with some things to baffle the hyperbolic, which is surely a good thing.
Overlooked Because I'm Blocking It Dept.
The Baroque Violinist (whose massive, ever-expanding DVD, 16 mm, VHS, Beta and laser collection could literally start a small-business rental outlet) had me over for dinner last week. In a fit of red wine-induced, falafel-and-tabouleh-assisted weakness, I let him show me his advance-ordered, European-supplied BluRay of Antichrist,.
Oh.
My.
God.
The much-discussed prologue in slo-mo black-and-white is among the most eerily beautiful footage Lars von Trier has ever shot, hypnotic and artful, while Mr. Dafoe and especially Ms. Gainsbourg are fearlessly committed beyond criticism or praise (am presuming the various scenes involving penetration and more used genital doubles, but I'm disinclined to do the research, for reasons that will soon be made clear). Had it continued in the introspective vein that the first "Grief" segment following the opening tragedy hints at, it might have been a Tarkovsky- or Bergman-level deepdish think piece. As it stands, am baffled to ascertain exactly what the point was, unless Lars was trying to out-Haneke Michael or something. Such unrelenting bleakness, not to mention the violence and extremely dubious sexual politics, that then became violent. I almost threw up more than once, at least two scenes in the second and third segments caused me to turn my head away from the screen with a shriek. Perhaps he knows what he means, and there's nothing wrong with films provoking reaction or challenging the viewer, but this was something else again. I may have to go to hypnosis to recover. Seriously. Made Dogville look like Capra by comparison. |
Last edited by inlareviewer on Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:45 pm; edited 1 time in total _________________ "And take extra care with strangers/Even flowers have their dangers/And though scary is exciting/Nice is different than good." --Stephen Sondheim |
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lady wakasa |
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:44 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 5911
Location: Beyond the Blue Horizon
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inlareviewer wrote: As it is, am baffled to ascertain exactly what the point was, as though Lars was trying to out-Haneke Michael. I nearly threw up more than once, at least two scenes in the second and third segments caused me to turn my head away from the screen with a shriek. Perhaps he knows what he means, and there's nothing wrong with films provoking reaction or challenging the viewer, but this was something else again. I may have to go to hypnosis to recover. Seriously. Made Dogville look like Capra by comparison.[/i]
Dude - all I can say is *think about it a few days* (and yes, I cringed and I'm still not sure I could go back and watch again).
I managed to put together what I think is a decent explanation of at least the narrative (not so much the symbolism, although gromit has an excellent interpretation there) after getting over the initial shock. There is some sense to be had, especially if you parse some of the things that were said before it got Very Ugly.
And he used porn actors as doubles, so yes. |
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inlareviewer |
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:53 pm |
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Joined: 05 Jul 2004
Posts: 1949
Location: Lawrence, KS
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lady wakasa wrote: inlareviewer wrote: As it is, am baffled to ascertain exactly what the point was, as though Lars was trying to out-Haneke Michael. I nearly threw up more than once, at least two scenes in the second and third segments caused me to turn my head away from the screen with a shriek. Perhaps he knows what he means, and there's nothing wrong with films provoking reaction or challenging the viewer, but this was something else again. I may have to go to hypnosis to recover. Seriously. Made Dogville look like Capra by comparison.[/i]
Dude - all I can say is *think about it a few days* (and yes, I cringed and I'm still not sure I could go back and watch again).
I managed to put together what I think is a decent explanation of at least the narrative (not so much the symbolism, although gromit has an excellent interpretation there) after getting over the initial shock. There is some sense to be had, especially if you parse some of the things that were said before it got Very Ugly.
And he used porn actors as doubles, so yes.
Oops, I edited. Well, that's me all over.
Actually, I have thought about it, for several days, when I could stomach the thoughts, your (searched-for-and-read) explanation of the scenario makes more sense than the proceedings did in the watching, and gromit's (ditto) analysis of the symbology is a reasonable interpretation of What It All Means. The Baroque Violinist thinks that She is finally percieved by He and by extension the auteur to be the embodiment of the titular entity, hence the horrific, eye-bulging, incendiary, face-blurring final scene. Or not. Again, had the conversations and exchanges of the narrative before they go to Eden been the focus, my reaction would be very different, I think. Or not. There's only so much downward spiralling that my senses can take, always, and it's been far less than that lately. Can say without hesitation that La Gainsbourg utterly deserved that Best Actress prize at Cannes, if not indeed a Purple Heart for Unswerving Masochistic Investment. Am hugely relieved to hear that doubles were used. Perhaps not since Salo has a movie so riveted/astonished/ upset/horrified me at once -- and, most likely, that's the point. In any event, have no need at this particularly trying moment in my life to revisit SPOILERS
a two-by-four to the crotch resulting in ejaculating blood, or drills through....oh, dear lord, it's coming back. I feel woozy. |
Last edited by inlareviewer on Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:00 pm; edited 5 times in total _________________ "And take extra care with strangers/Even flowers have their dangers/And though scary is exciting/Nice is different than good." --Stephen Sondheim |
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marantzo |
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:00 pm |
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Antichrist is on my "Films By Disgusting Directors That Only Marc Could Love" (definitely must-not-see list).  |
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Marj |
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:43 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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And, of course, I feel that I have to see it. If for no other reason to be apart of the conversation. Oh, My. |
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inlareviewer |
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:50 pm |
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Joined: 05 Jul 2004
Posts: 1949
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Well, am of the mind that there's a very personal mastery of technique and singular objective to von Trier's oeuvre, even if Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the Dark seemed to land as much on Emily Watson/Bjřrk as on the Dogme-tic director's vision. For all its sardonic darkness and insidious, the-joke's-on-us finale, I quite appreciated Dogville, albeit on its own very specific terms --still think it contains La Belle Nicole's best work on screen to date, for starters. And The Kingdom , for me, sits alongside Berlin Alexanderplatz, I, Claudius and both Pennies From Heaven and The Singing Detective among my all-time television Wows. So, I didn't go into Antichrist unprepared for difficult material. Plus, there was wine involved, in a cozy living/home-screening room, with a big HD teevee and longtime friends, which may have made me extra-off-guarded in my responses. Regardless, was utterly so not prepared for the level of difficulty it engendered, to put it mildly.
And maybe that's the point. |
_________________ "And take extra care with strangers/Even flowers have their dangers/And though scary is exciting/Nice is different than good." --Stephen Sondheim |
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Marc |
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 8:15 pm |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
Posts: 8424
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Quote: Antichrist is on my "Films By Disgusting Directors That Only Marc Could Love" (definitely must-not-see list)
I haven't seen ANTICHRIST. It opens in Austin this coming weekend. I'll be there. My girlfriend, Mirgun, saw it and reviewed it here. She was quite moved by the film and she has excellent taste in film, literature and art. Plus, she has a good bullshit detector. If Mirgun likes something, there's something to like. |
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