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| Joe Vitus |
 Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 9:12 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| I'm glad it has other assets. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 11:31 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6958
Location: Black Hills
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Knox [moving the topic of the Grossly Unneeded Remake of "Dragon Tattoo" over to current film...]:
David Fincher, director of great movies like Se7en, Fight Club, and Zodiac...yeah, I had a WTF moment, too. It suggested a mixture of arrogance and some kind of creative nosedive in his career. To even suggest that the finest film of 2010 needs a prompt english language remake is just ludicrous. To cast Daniel Craig as the journalist Blomqvist is just wrong. And they are reportedly keeping the Swedish setting, having the actors use Swedish accents...so very very stupid. Someone stop this man. Please. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| grace |
| Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 11:38 am |
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Joined: 11 Nov 2005
Posts: 3214
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| But the female lead, Rooney Mara, is football royalty!! It's got to be great! |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 2:14 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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I had trouble getting through 35 Shots of Rhum.
The characters and the slow rhythm of the film didn't interest me much at all. The characters felt like characters, presenting minor-key relationship puzzles.
I believe that the father-daughter relationship was supposed to strong and sweet, but it creeped me out at regular intervals. I also think that for this kind of carefully observed, slice-of-life type film, the actors should appear more ordinary and shouldn't be a little too good-looking, as they are here.
In the extras, director Claire Denis says that the film is basically a remodeling of Ozu's Late Spring, which I haven't seen, but explains a good deal.
A small-scale film that felt to me much longer than it is. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| inlareviewer |
| Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 2:28 pm |
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Joined: 05 Jul 2004
Posts: 1949
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Scratching out a scant moment amid The Year From The Planet Hades' series of maternal health/paper of record/housing crises, all of which make it extremely difficult to post anywhere for some time now
Howdy, Third Eyesters, how's the cinematics? Alas, haven't the time to go back and read back-logged posts, so my apologies if am stepping on toes, recounting duplicate POVS or reiterating previously said things. It's later than we think.
Meanwhile, the three Swedish adaptations of Stieg Larrson's Millennium Trilogy, seen in a marathon screening by an Industry colleague with wide-reaching arms, lead the pack of my favorite films thus far this annum. (A small pack indeed, with only Please Give, Restrepo, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Get Low and The Kids Are All Right in it, though am fully anticipating The Tillman Story, Nanny McPhee Returns and The Switch will make me respectively outraged, elated and pop-culture-interested, but I digress). Am not anticipating that the (to my mind utterly redundant) upcoming English-language remake of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo will supplant that first film's wholly remarkable blend of high-end B-movie, Hitchcockian homage, bureaucracy/misogyny match-up, gynocentric undertow (not for nothing is the novel originally titled Män som hatar kvinnor, or Men Who Hate Women) and unlike-anything-else-out-there tone (Eric Kress and Jens Fischer's cinematography, at once icily Scandinavian and peculiarly noir-tinged, is invaluable, as is director Neils Arden Oplev in the first film, and Daniel Alfredson is only slightly less so in the second and third). Am expecting that David Fincher will do a decent job, but it's a rather obviated directorial choice, and Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, though not unintelligent picks, are unlikely to equal what Michael Nyqvist and the astounding Noomi Rapace (easily my Blanche bar-setter for Prima Donna, edging out Mrs. Warren Beatty, La Belle Julianne and Her Keeneritude as of this typing) sustain and develop not only in the inaugural chapter, but the increasing narrative involvement and character motivation of The Girl Who Played With Fire (which has some heart-stopping moments that suggest Bertolucci on a backroom bender), let alone the tensile full-circle trajectory of The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. The supporting cast is equally up to the challenges of keeping their archetypes real, their reality iconic, and taken separately or in tandem, all three films represent a marvelous, aptly unsettling and riveting achievement, across the board.
Meanwhile, cannot resist mentioning that of those other cited films, The Kids Are All Right is not quite the miracle it's been hailed as in some circles, but it's very well done, superbly observed in familial dynamics, often hilarious, and magnificently acted; Restrepo sits high on my list of Documentaries That Ought To Be Mandatory Viewing For Every Citizen of Oceania, extremely anger-making on more than one level; Get Low is a beautiful, albeit small-scaled film of high quality, Horton Foote meets an RKO programmer with more depth, Duvall! on form and then some (he's my Blanche bar-setter for Master Thespian thus far), Sissy Dearest equally potent and interally layered, with Bill Murray all but stealing it; Please Give has its quirks and demi-sags, but Her Keeneritude deepens by the picture, and Ms. Holofcener really gnaws into her topic here; and Scott Pilgrim is a hoot, period. Highly recommended. all of 'em. Am sure there's more, but must go change an oxygen tank and then check in with the blog, er, paper of record and see what if any work assignments they're tossing my way this weekend. Will try to post again anon, or the non after that. Sidebar: Chilly, the check will be in the mail in September, so sorry for the delay, it's been a daunting time, to put it mildly (I feel like a PBS pledgester, oy). Happy cinematizin', allez. |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 3:47 pm |
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Joined: 12 May 2004
Posts: 4248
Location: Montreal
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Inla - Great to see you! You sound buzzed with positive energy. Haven't seen any of the films you reviewed, but the consensus among those who have is an opinion pretty close to your own.
Had a choice of going into the left or right theater door at the multiplex cinema on Wednesday, and ended up walking into Solitary Man instead of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. It was a good choice, the film's haunted me, but I am dyin' for some good fun after having mortality shoved down my throat. |
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| inlareviewer |
| Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 9:52 pm |
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Joined: 05 Jul 2004
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Location: Lawrence, KS
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lshap wrote: Inla - Great to see you! You sound buzzed with positive energy. Haven't seen any of the films you reviewed, but the consensus among those who have is an opinion pretty close to your own.
Had a choice of going into the left or right theater door at the multiplex cinema on Wednesday, and ended up walking into Solitary Man instead of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. It was a good choice, the film's haunted me, but I am dyin' for some good fun after having mortality shoved down my throat.
Lorne, thanks so much, lovely to be afforded the quiet moment of post-flection. Am glad to know that peeps are digging on the dig-ables; hopefully will be able to scroll back over the weekend and check out their thoughts. All those films are totally worthy, and thanks for reminding me about Solitary Man. If you're dyin' for some good fun, the Michael Cera mega-vehicle seemed to me all that, and chocolate-drizzled caramel popcorn, too. In previous post, the inevitable dyslexic omission transpired:
Correctional Facilities Dept.:
inlareviewer wrote: and Scott Pilgrim is a hoot, period.
Make that a multi-valent, mind-blowing hoot, double period. In fact, I need to see it again, sooner rather than later. Truly, as the catchphrase promises, an epic of epic epicness. Deathless line (one of many): " You punched me in the boob! Prepare to die obviously!" It sent me to Plotzylvania.
Elsewhere, Mrs. Gummer, icon and object of the Society of Avid Solipsistic Streepian Yoyos, has snagged the Margaret Thatcher biopic assignment out from under Emma T.'s non-McPhee-bulbed nose. Am cautiously jubilant, well in advance. Moreover, SASSY is positively salivatory over the mere thought of Meryl and Tina la Fey working together on that project they recently announced. Kewlosity. |
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"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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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 6:32 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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gromit wrote: I had trouble getting through 35 Shots of Rhum.
The characters and the slow rhythm of the film didn't interest me much at all. The characters felt like characters, presenting minor-key relationship puzzles.
I believe that the father-daughter relationship was supposed to strong and sweet, but it creeped me out at regular intervals. I also think that for this kind of carefully observed, slice-of-life type film, the actors should appear more ordinary and shouldn't be a little too good-looking, as they are here.
In the extras, director Claire Denis says that the film is basically a remodeling of Ozu's Late Spring, which I haven't seen, but explains a good deal.
A small-scale film that felt to me much longer than it is.
OMG how I disagree with this review! This was one of the best films of the last ten years. If only for its finest sequence, a transcendentally-well-directed (and remarkably sexy) late-night dance in a sort-of-after-hours restaurant, it would make my top ten of 2009, but the "creepy" father-daughter relationship was nothing of the sort. It was believable and moving.
BTW (the pedant emerges), it's either 35 Shots of Rum or 35 Rhums. You've gone bilingual on us.
This whole thing should be in Couch. Too late. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 8:01 am |
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| Scott Pilgrim vs The World was great fun. Shot in a way that grabs you from the start and takes you on a surreal trip. A trip that, in spite of its crazy quilt shifts in time and place, is very Canadian. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 8:36 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| When are we going to get that Corner Gas movie? |
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You've got a great brain. You should keep it in your head.
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 8:59 am |
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| I take it that you watched Corner Gas. Are they making a movie of it? I love that show. Watch the reruns all the time. Ah, Dog River Days. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 9:47 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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billyweeds wrote: [/b].
OMG how I disagree with this review! This was one of the best films of the last ten years. If only for its finest sequence, a transcendentally-well-directed (and remarkably sexy) late-night dance in a sort-of-after-hours restaurant, it would make my top ten of 2009, but the "creepy" father-daughter relationship was nothing of the sort. It was believable and moving.
It took me three nights to get through an hour and 40 minute film. Maybe I've just seen far too many American dysfunctional family films, but the father-daughter in 35 Shots of Rum acted very much like a couple, and I kept expecting it to either turn sexual or reveal that it already was. It often felt on the verge, which repeatedly got me anxious. One such instance was the scene where they are sleeping outside next to each other, among some grass near the beach, and the 20-something daughter says, We could live like this forever.
What can I say -- I guess I'm not used to seeing a functional family unit on screen. It's probably all the older male/younger women romantic combos that American screenwriters/directors love so much. And again, it was partly because 50 year old Dad was dignified and handsome, while college-age daughter was fine.
I also thought the vague open-ended finale was contrived, though somewhat inoffensive. The film was sort of a pointless unpleasant chore for me, much like the 35 shots in the film. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 10:37 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6958
Location: Black Hills
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grace wrote: But the female lead, Rooney Mara, is football royalty!! It's got to be great!
Ha! (actually, don't even know what that means, such is my sports illiteracy in all areas non-beisbol....) (it's like some official position? The Queen of Football? Does she, what, throw out the first pitch or whatever the football equivalent is? Does she parade through locker rooms, nodding to her subjects with regal dignity while all the wet-towel snapping stops for a moment and all bow before her? ) |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| grace |
| Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 10:54 am |
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Joined: 11 Nov 2005
Posts: 3214
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Quote: Does she parade through locker rooms, nodding to her subjects with regal dignity while all the wet-towel snapping stops for a moment and all bow before her?
No, that's Barbara Jane Bookman of Semi-Tough. One of Ms. Mara's great-grandfathers was Art Rooney, founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and another great-grandfather was Tim Mara, founder of the New York Giants. And you call yourself an American!
marantz, never mind Corner Gas, is there any word on the long-awaited New Red Green flick? |
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| knox |
| Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 4:41 pm |
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Joined: 18 Mar 2010
Posts: 1246
Location: St. Louis
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| Disturbing how many Americans refuse to read subtitles. That just plays so much into the negative image of us as provincial and self-centered -- here's a film that's an international hit, but apparently just can't draw enough audience here to stand on its own. I'm looking forward to the next one, TGWPWF -- Nyqvist and Noren (aka Rapace) are spellbinding. |
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