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Syd
Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 8:12 pm Reply with quote
Site Admin Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 12887 Location: Norman, Oklahoma
Marj wrote:
I actually had a problem with the disk. Every so often the subtitles would just disappear. I had to stop and reverse some things to make them reappear. So that made it a bit slow for me, Marc.

Still it was such a lush movie. I don't know the last time, I've reacted to a film like this. It felt like more than empathy, if you know what I mean.

Lady, I'm going to see 2046 soon. Rod liked it better than In the Mood for Love.


I did, too.

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Marj
Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 8:14 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 10497 Location: Manhattan
Syd wrote:
Marj wrote:
I actually had a problem with the disk. Every so often the subtitles would just disappear. I had to stop and reverse some things to make them reappear. So that made it a bit slow for me, Marc.

Still it was such a lush movie. I don't know the last time, I've reacted to a film like this. It felt like more than empathy, if you know what I mean.

Lady, I'm going to see 2046 soon. Rod liked it better than In the Mood for Love.


I did, too.


Wow! Then a warning to everyone.
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ehle64
Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 9:08 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 7149 Location: NYC; US&A
I heart me some Wong Kar-Wei and have the Criterion of In The Mood For Love. Lovely, long and lush.

I don't know why, honestly some things happen that I can't explain, but I rented The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons. Saw the first and the second just arrived. I didn't really like it or its obvious propagandizing, but found the film entertaining. Also didn't know Sir Ian McKellen was in it so that was a nice surprise. So, for Ewan McGregor's sake, I'll watch the second tonight or tomorrow.

Watched Away We Go last week and found it very satisfying. I was in the perfect mood for this. The leads are so comfortable with each other and the supporting cast are all fantastic. If you're in the mood for a little picture about some of the travails that occur when you're starting a new adventure in life, and need a happy ending, I'd say take this ride.
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Marj
Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 11:29 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 10497 Location: Manhattan
I saw both too, Wade. The DeVinci Code was kind of a guilty pleasure but Angels and Demons was too awful for even that. Come to think of it, it could gone onto my films I hate list!
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marantzo
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 8:37 am Reply with quote
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Wade, I haven't seen Angels and Demons, or the other one, but my step daughter liked it very much. She liked The De Vince Code also but AaD better.

Just so you have a different opinion.

On this subject, Colombia of course, is a Catholic country. The people I know here are all educated professionals and one artist. They all consider themselves Catholic and though not much for going to church, do attend Mass now and then. And their over-riding opinion of the Vatican is that it is a corrupt, virtually criminal institution with 14th century ideas. They have no respect for the Pope and according to them, neither do the Priests here. They never have sermons about abortion, or homosexuals, or birth control, etc. This may only be how it is for the educated middle and upper classes and their churches, which is the demographic of everyone I know here.

Abortion here is legal for rape victims, the mother's health and one other reason that Marta can't remember. The hospitals run by nuns refuse to allow abortions but they have been sued by women who have been refused and the court has ruled against the hospitals. Of course the doctors get around the restrictions all the time and abortions are easily available.
gromit
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 12:01 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 31 Aug 2004 Posts: 9005 Location: Shanghai
Un Conte de Noël (2008) aka A Christmas Tale is very much a French interp of The Royal Tenenbaums. I'd have to make a proper count, but it seems to have roughly the same number of family members (each with their own successes and neuroses) and assorted spouses, children and other guests. Sibling rivalry, children that need to be sheltered, one wacky estranged brother, etc. There's even a cancer plotline involving one of the parents which brings the family together under one roof. And the film tries to cram in a lot of backstory and complicated relationships as in RT. Really, the characters and many of the situations are just a slight re-shuffle of RT.

Besides the RT template, there is a touch of Juenet and Caro with oddball camera irises. And at times, characters speak directly to the camera. While it is pretty well-made, I don't like Xmas Tale nearly as much as The Royal T's. I think a good deal of Christmas Tale rings completely false for me. I don't think people -- almost everyone in the film -- are usually capable of standing back and seeing themselves, and family dynamics, with such objective detachment, let alone then being able to express their conclusions with succinctness. Also, many of the scenes seemed contrived for effect, rather than seemed to arise from material. And many of these scenes were not well set up (they just happen quickly) and seemed derivative (I could say in my head, oh this is the confrontation scene or this is the joyous ensemble scene).

I also wasn't terribly convinced that the father (the most underwritten role) ran a dye factory, listened to Cecil Taylor or read Nietsche. Too many of the cultural references seemed like they were coming from the director, not the characters. The film is a bit long but breezes by and uses a few different styles in assured fashion, yet the plot, actions, dialogue, and characters just seemed rather false and overly derivative to me.

I also thought the last half hour was the weakest. An affair which arises seems extremely unrealistic. And the scenes with the father and his dying factory seemed kind of tacked on to give some slight resolution for two of the drifting family members.

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billyweeds
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 1:17 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 20618 Location: New York City
The Sniper is a message picture--produced by the self-important Stanley Kramer, how could it not be?--but as directed by Edward Dmytryk, it is gripping and well acted. Arthur Franz plays a tortured, sexually disturbed young sociopath who turns to killing women with a long-range rifle. It's a serial killer movie, some say the first, and an indictment of society's treatment of sexual insanity. But the acting by Franz, Richard Kiley as a psychologist with a social agenda, Adolphe Menjou as a policeman, and Marie Windsor as the sniper's first victim makes it all work pretty well.
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Marj
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 2:28 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 10497 Location: Manhattan
Sounds interesting, Billy. I've always wondered about the first serial killer movie. I think it's The Spiral Staircase, but I'm not sure.
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lady wakasa
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 9:14 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 5911 Location: Beyond the Blue Horizon
Marj wrote:
Sounds interesting, Billy. I've always wondered about the first serial killer movie. I think it's The Spiral Staircase, but I'm not sure.


Well, but there's a silent Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde...

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Earl
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:23 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 09 Jun 2004 Posts: 2621 Location: Houston
gromit wrote:
Un Conte de Noël (2008) aka A Christmas Tale is very much a French interp of The Royal Tenenbaums. I'd have to make a proper count, but it seems to have roughly the same number of family members (each with their own successes and neuroses) and assorted spouses, children and other guests. Sibling rivalry, children that need to be sheltered, one wacky estranged brother, etc. There's even a cancer plotline involving one of the parents which brings the family together under one roof. And the film tries to cram in a lot of backstory and complicated relationships as in RT. Really, the characters and many of the situations are just a slight re-shuffle of RT.

Besides the RT template, there is a touch of Juenet and Caro with oddball camera irises. And at times, characters speak directly to the camera. While it is pretty well-made, I don't like Xmas Tale nearly as much as The Royal T's. I think a good deal of Christmas Tale rings completely false for me. I don't think people -- almost everyone in the film -- are usually capable of standing back and seeing themselves, and family dynamics, with such objective detachment, let alone then being able to express their conclusions with succinctness. Also, many of the scenes seemed contrived for effect, rather than seemed to arise from material. And many of these scenes were not well set up (they just happen quickly) and seemed derivative (I could say in my head, oh this is the confrontation scene or this is the joyous ensemble scene).

I also wasn't terribly convinced that the father (the most underwritten role) ran a dye factory, listened to Cecil Taylor or read Nietsche. Too many of the cultural references seemed like they were coming from the director, not the characters. The film is a bit long but breezes by and uses a few different styles in assured fashion, yet the plot, actions, dialogue, and characters just seemed rather false and overly derivative to me.

I also thought the last half hour was the weakest. An affair which arises seems extremely unrealistic. And the scenes with the father and his dying factory seemed kind of tacked on to give some slight resolution for two of the drifting family members.


You were WAY kinder to this movie than I was eleven months ago. And if you have time, check out the Roger Ebert review of the movie, which I linked in my review. Ebert liked it a lot. Different strokes and all that.

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Marj
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 11:07 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 10497 Location: Manhattan
lady wakasa wrote:
Marj wrote:
Sounds interesting, Billy. I've always wondered about the first serial killer movie. I think it's The Spiral Staircase, but I'm not sure.


Well, but there's a silent Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde...


Lady--Do you really consider it a serial killer movie? I've seen the most famous three versions, and I can't.
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Befade
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 11:09 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 3784 Location: AZ
I was pleasantly pleased with Chris & Don: A Love Story. I didn't know that much about Christopher Isherwood other than that he was a famous writer. But the surprise for me was that his lover (30 years younger) is an artist I REALLLY like. His name is Don Bachardy and he draws and paints (in watercolor) portraits. He's very prolific....never would have pursued this path without Isherwood's encouragement. Personally I like drawing and painting portraits more than anything......but this guy is really good. Better than David Hockney! I'm going to google him to see more. He uses alot of colors in the portraits.......more than you'd expect to see.

Gary........check him out. Tell me what you think.

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Marj
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 11:15 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 10497 Location: Manhattan
Befade wrote:
I was pleasantly pleased with Chris & Don: A Love Story. I didn't know that much about Christopher Isherwood other than that he was a famous writer. But the surprise for me was that his lover (30 years younger) is an artist I REALLLY like. His name is Don Bachardy and he draws and paints (in watercolor) portraits. He's very prolific....never would have pursued this path without Isherwood's encouragement. Personally I like drawing and painting portraits more than anything......but this guy is really good. Better than David Hockney! I'm going to google him to see more. He uses alot of colors in the portraits.......more than you'd expect to see.


Without going into who is the better artist, I found the film very engrossing. A wonderful film.
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lady wakasa
Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:49 am Reply with quote
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 5911 Location: Beyond the Blue Horizon
Marj wrote:
lady wakasa wrote:
Marj wrote:
Sounds interesting, Billy. I've always wondered about the first serial killer movie. I think it's The Spiral Staircase, but I'm not sure.


Well, but there's a silent Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde...


Lady--Do you really consider it a serial killer movie? I've seen the most famous three versions, and I can't.


I was really trying to think of a movie with a murderer, and I remembered he'd offed a couple of people in there. I was more thinking that The Spiral Staircase was pretty late to be the first serial killer movie.

But Weine's The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1919), Alfred Hitchcock's The Lodger (1927), and Fritz Lang's M (1931) would fit the bill.

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gromit
Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:07 am Reply with quote
Joined: 31 Aug 2004 Posts: 9005 Location: Shanghai
[quote="lady wakasa"]
Marj wrote:

But Weine's The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1919), Alfred Hitchcock's The Lodger (1927), and Fritz Lang's M (1931) would fit the bill.

I think the film noir historian commenting on the film calls The Sniper one of the first serial killer movies. Then he qualifies it as more like the first modern American serial killer films. He does mention The Lodger and M, but kind of pushes them aside into Gothic/horror films with a killer, rather than a good red-blooded American methodical serial killer.

There's also Chaplin's serial killer flick, Monsieur Verdoux from 1947.
And one year prior to The Sniper, Joseph Losey re-made Lang's M in an American setting.

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