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| gromit |
 Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2016 5:35 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9016
Location: Shanghai
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The Lobster. It's sort of Logan's Run meets Martha Marcy May Marlene. Or something by Margaret Atwood. The premise is that only couples are allowed to live in society. Single people get sent to a hotel where they have 45 days to find a partner or they get turned into an animal of their choice. They do periodically go out and hunt "loners" -- single people living in the woods in violation of the laws -- and get an extra day reprieve for every loner they bag. For whatever reason the band of loners we get to know have strict rules against coupling, insisting on being in opposition to the mandatory couple rules.
For a film that stretches to nearly 2 hours, quite a lot is left unexplained, including how you turn someone into the animal of their choice. There also seems to be an odd focus on making sure couples have some superficial commonality -- a limp, nosebleeds, blindness, guitar playing. Why having one trait in common makes people compatible life partners is rather unclear. It's also unclear how children are dealt with since obviously they are singles -- no mention of when/how they get paired up. It also seems rather limited and unimaginative that you have to select a life partner from the single guests at a single hotel during a 45 day period. If they are advanced enough to turn people into any kind of animal, couldn't they have some sort of computer matching system? And why did the lead loner girl go into the city now and then, bringing a few others? Just lonely to see her parents and wanting to stock up, I guess(?)
Otherwise, I liked the casting. But not sure why most of the people talk and act like they are on lithium. I didn't realize it was a Greek/Irish joint production, and in English (except for a few brief scenes in French). There's a feeling of foreboding hovering around and the film has a nice look to it. But I felt like it needed to flesh things out more and/or slice the running time. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 11:45 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6965
Location: Black Hills
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Not seeing The Lobster, and many thanks for indicating just about everything I don't like in indie sci-fi.
I made a NY* resolution that I was giving up screen sci-fi (books only) this year and am sticking with it. The genre is now so dominated by teen lit CGI crud that there's room for little else at the googolplex. Happy to skip The 5th Wave or the latest light-saber whhhhzzzzzzzhhhhhh-athon.
I will make exceptions for anything from a Duplass brother or Duncan Jones (my avatar's son).
*New Year's, not New York....I expect a New York resolution is one you make in under 60 seconds. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 12:44 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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Carol is a remarkable achievement for Todd Haynes and his best movie yet. I am surprised it did not earn a Best Movie Oscar nomination. Bravura performance by Cate Blanchett.
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 1:15 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Upstate NY
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The Oscar nominated Turkish movie "Mustang" is the first feature film of director (and actress) Deniz Erguven who was honored at Cannes. It tells the story of five exuberant teenage girls being raised by their grandmother and uncle in a small seaside village in Turkey. Their rambunctiousness leads to their being confined to their homes and their rebelling against their confinement and against segregation from boys, against forced arranged marriages, forced virginity tests and a host of other impositions. They dream of escape to Ankara. The movie is amusing as well as tragic. A creditable first effort.
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| Syd |
| Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 10:59 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12940
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| Looking at this year's director nominees, one of whom will likely win Best Picture at the Oscars, there's not a single one I want to win. Though admittedly I have to see more than The Revenant. I probably should see Spotlight, and The Room is showing locally, but it sounds like they should give Best Picture to The Martian or Brooklyn. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 10:02 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Syd--You simply have to get the title right or you will wind up seeing The Room, one of the worst movies ever made.
The Oscar-nominated film, Room (with no "The"), is the best of the five you cited IMO. It's wonderful.
The Room is terrible but hysterically funny. I own it and have seen it multiple times. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 10:06 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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| The first time I saw Carol it put me intermittently to sleep. But, I figured, I might have been sleepy or not ready for the exquisite subtlety of this raved-about movie. So I tried it again. Slept again, but in different scenes, so now I've seen the whole thing. Beautiful to look at, captures the 1950s, but dramatically unexciting IMO. Blanchett is unsurprisingly excellent (though I much prefer her performance in the unappreciated Truth). Rooney Mara's performance does not do it for me. She seems underwater. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 8:15 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12940
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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yambu wrote: Brooklyn is a wonderful tale about a plain young Irish woman who comes to 1950s Brooklyn to begin a new life. There are touches to tell you where you are, but the locus is not the focus. A simple story requires strong acting, and this has it. The heroine has no one to rely upon but herself, as two ardent suitors pull her from one country to the other.
There is a little Italian kid who has two short scene stealers: "I'm only eight years old. I don't know about kissin' and stuff."
Add me to the fans of Brooklyn. Saoirse Ronan is wonderful in the lead, the period is lovingly detailed (early fifties; the movie ends in 1952), and I just love the look of the film. Nick Hornsby adapted the screenplay from someone else's novel, and, as usual, it's excellent. I had tears in my eyes during some scenes. |
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Rocky Laocoon foretold of Troy's doom, only to find snaky water. They pulled him in and Rocky can't swim. Now Rocky wishes he were an otter! |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 12:40 am |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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Syd wrote: ....I had tears in my eyes during some scenes.
Here is a sample of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8paj2hQHIo |
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That was great for you. How was it for me? |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 3:04 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9016
Location: Shanghai
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Ghulam wrote: .
The Oscar nominated Turkish movie "Mustang" is the first feature film of director (and actress) Deniz Erguven who was honored at Cannes. It tells the story of five exuberant teenage girls being raised by their grandmother and uncle in a small seaside village in Turkey. Their rambunctiousness leads to their being confined to their homes and their rebelling against their confinement and against segregation from boys, against forced arranged marriages, forced virginity tests and a host of other impositions. They dream of escape to Ankara. The movie is amusing as well as tragic. A creditable first effort.
Interesting because Turkey has been trying to present a modernized face to the world, even while embracing Islam. My guess is the Erdogan gov't probably hates this film like the Chinese felt about Zhang YiMou's rural 90's films. Maybe I'm wrong since to be Oscar nominated this would have to have been Turkey's official submission, I believe. Maybe just another Gulenist plot to discredit the Muslim AKP party. [you can tell I spend too much time following Turkish politics... btw, Gulen lives in Pennsylvania] |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 10:52 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6965
Location: Black Hills
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| Am on tablet so cant typ at lengt, but will say more sbout the overrated The Revenant later, and its ridiculous inaccuracies. Probbly start with nighttime search parties with torches, crawling inside a gutted horse but not using the meat, putting Lemon, SD in the Alberta Rockies, an Indian with 3 fires going, a horsd that willingly carries a corpse (never, not ever, uless its drugged), a horse that runs off a cliff without hesitation, 1820s soldiers wasting precious ammo firing while mounted, etc. A piece of high-art hokum, a tall tale told by an idiot, signifying a regression to Richard Harris' s Hugh Glass of 1971. And a tedious revenge plot that, without the pretty pics and good acting, would reveal its hollow core. Am not done, so if you liked this plate of baloney, don't read tomorrow's expanded post and pop your western fantasy bubble. Don't even get me started on the bogus rape-rescue/horse stealing scene. Does no one studt western history any more? |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 11:00 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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| Am probably unfair to Man in the Wilderness, where Glass (called Bass) decides not to revenge himself because he has a more important priority. Should see this again, as it's probably better and truer to Glass. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 11:00 am |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12940
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| In real life, there was no son to revenge, and, though Glass was plenty pissed, he was more interested in getting his stuff back than killing the guys who left him for dead. |
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Rocky Laocoon foretold of Troy's doom, only to find snaky water. They pulled him in and Rocky can't swim. Now Rocky wishes he were an otter! |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 11:14 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6965
Location: Black Hills
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Yes, Glass accepts Fitzgerald's apology and return of his rifle. There are rumors he had a Pawnee wife, but then there are also rumors he ran with pirate Jean LaFitte and swam across half the Caribbean to Texas. 
The Fort Kiowa commander (Gleeson) also would not have flipped out and attacked Jim Bridger (the kid) that way. Nor gone out with Glass by himself...post commander would never do that.
Am stopping. Feh!
That 3 fires thing....only reason for a lone Indian to have 3 fires is to better light a scene for the camera people. So pulled me out of the movie. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 12:29 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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After seeing all of the supposed front-runners for Best Picture of the Year, I find there's only one I absolutely love. Room is magnificent. Everything else is either good (e.g., Spotlight) or pretty good (Brooklyn) or seriously overrated (Carol, The Revenant). I pretty much loathed The Big Short, but a lot of people seem to like it.
My favorite movies of 2016 are almost all out of the mainstream Oscar loop. Room is great, but my other favorites (in alphabetical order) are 99 Homes, The End of the Tour, Infinitely Polar Bear, Joy, Love & Mercy, and Truth. |
Last edited by billyweeds on Sun Jan 24, 2016 7:31 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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