| Author |
Message |
|
| billyweeds |
 Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 12:21 pm |
 |
|
Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
|
Did one of those self-arranged double features yesterday, getting to see the only two current films I was lusting to see in one day. First on deck was Hello, My Name is Doris, starring my favorite living screen actress Sally Field, in her first starring role in 20 years. This would be her third Oscar if I were God, but 1) it's too early in the year and 2) the movie is too under-the-radar. But Field is as astonishing as ever as a weirdly likable but very quirky, sometimes cringe-worthy older woman who starts stalking her much younger, mildly hunky co-worker. The film is a dramedy, and Field sometimes makes you laugh out loud one minute and cry the next. The movie is a true original and a tad uneven, but supremely worth seeing.
Then saw 10 Cloverfield Lane, another unique movie--part psychological thriller, part horror flick--with a remarkable performance by the great John Goodman as a scary but intermittently sympathetic creep who holds a young woman in a dungeon with all the comforts of home. Is he a simple abductor or is he saving her from an unseen apocalypse? We don't really know. It's a fascinating story. |
|
|
| Back to top |
  
|
| gromit |
| Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 12:35 pm |
|
|
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9016
Location: Shanghai
|
Aferim! is a Romanian film which didn't get to the US in film festivals until November and then had a US release in January '16.
Circa 1835, a father getting on in years brings his son along to learn the trade of capturing fugitives. In this case a runaway gypsy slave accused of adultery.
Nice views of the Romanian countryside and encounters with priests and small villages of frightened idiots. The authority figures kind of run roughshod over the locals despite being lightly armed and outnumbered. When they catch their man, they put him in foot stocks, tie his hands and sling him over the horse the father man rides.
The film kind of stays in one mode throughout. And it certainly didn't help that the English subtitles on my disc were rather iffy, just intelligible enough to give the basic idea of what was going on. "Unlock me" was a frequent subtitle, when really it should have read "let me go" as generally the person was only being held by the wrist or arm. Not sure if good subtitles would have made a major difference, but certainly would have made it a more enjoyable experience.
The film looked nice in b&W, and the journey was mostly interesting though a bit repetitive. |
_________________
Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
|
| Back to top |
|
| gromit |
| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 12:46 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9016
Location: Shanghai
|
Jauja is a pretty good companion piece to Aferim!
Another slow film where the human relations are pretty basic, a person is missing and a journey undertaken to find them. While again the landscape is really the star of the film. Both set some time in the early 19th C. The rugged semi-desert of Argentina is pretty amazing and at times intense. Some lovely images. Viggo Mortenson plays a Danish soldier in charge of some sort of public works project (a canal?). The plot is fairly minimal, and the ending kind of explains what it's all about. |
_________________
Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
|
| Back to top |
|
| bartist |
| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 11:17 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6965
Location: Black Hills
|
Saw Spotlight, which seemed to me deserving of its 2 Oscars, for best pic and screenplay (original). My dad was a journalist in Boston for three years, so many familiar chords struck for this viewer. If you think what journalists do is interesting and important (when it's done right, that is), then this seems a more satisfying and realistic film than many classics of the genre. I'd have to see ATPM again to say definitely I preferred Spotlight, but this was definitely less dramatic, less "hollywood."
John Slattery is Jason Robards's son. I can almost see the resemblance.  |
_________________
He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
|
| Back to top |
|
| yambu |
| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 1:08 pm |
|
|
Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
|
bartist wrote: Saw Spotlight, which seemed to me deserving of its 2 Oscars, for best pic and screenplay (original). My dad was a journalist in Boston for three years, so many familiar chords struck for this viewer. If you think what journalists do is interesting and important (when it's done right, that is), then this seems a more satisfying and realistic film than many classics of the genre. I'd have to see ATPM again to say definitely I preferred Spotlight, but this was definitely less dramatic, less "hollywood."
John Slattery is Jason Robards's son. I can almost see the resemblance. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| marantzo |
| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 1:12 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 30 Oct 2014
Posts: 278
Location: Winnipeg: It's a dry cold.
|
I saw Eye in the Sky two days ago. It was definitely a very good movie and a serious one.
Anyone seen this yet? Seems that no one ever wrote that they saw a movie I wrote about or that they didn't see the movie I wrote about. Oh well! |
_________________
Big bang, shmig bang; still doesn't explain how anything starts. |
|
| Back to top |
|
| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 12:25 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
|
bartist wrote: I'd have to see ATPM again to say definitely I preferred Spotlight, but this was definitely less dramatic, less "hollywood."
Sometimes "Hollywood" is good. Spotlight was probably more authentic, but ATPM's extra theatricality was a big plus, and made it a more effective film. IMO it's the difference between "very, very good" (Spotlight) and "great" (ATPM). |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| bartist |
| Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 6:16 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6965
Location: Black Hills
|
| You make a good point, BW. I have to see ATPM again...maybe throw in The Paper (barely remember) for a trifecta. |
_________________
He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
|
| Back to top |
|
| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2016 11:27 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
|
bartist wrote: You make a good point, BW. I have to see ATPM again...maybe throw in The Paper (barely remember) for a trifecta.
The Paper is wildly uneven, but whenever Michael Keaton is front and center it's one of Ron Howard's most entertaining movies. IMO Glenn Close is at her worst here. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Ghulam |
| Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 3:11 pm |
|
|
Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
|
.
The much praised "scary" movie 10 Cloverfield Lane was a disappointment. Silly story and phony scares.
. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| gromit |
| Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 5:34 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9016
Location: Shanghai
|
Son of Saul wasn't as punishing or horror-filled as I expected from comments here. It's akin to One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich but set in an extermination camp -- Two Days in the Life of Saul Auslander. Much of the unpleasantness is in the background and frequently blurry. I thought the handheld, close-up technique with the background out of focus worked for the context of the film. It's all a nightmare around him and he survives mainly by not focusing on the horrors around him. But this dissociated approach breaks down when he latches on to a dying boy.
The film might rely a little too much on fog-of-war presentation, so it's often unclear where characters are or one location and another are linked. Generally I'd say another Holocaust film isn't needed (at least not by me), but this film did present things from a different viewpoint and was fairly immersive. The actor who plays Saul does a good job, which is important since the camera almost relentlessly focuses upon him.
Just looking things up a little, and turns out the film is based on an actual revolt in Auschwitz, including details such as the clandestine photos which were taken to document the mass killings. These can be seen on wiki: http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/revolt/sonderevolt.html. And this is a good write-up as well: http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/revolt/sonderevolt.html |
_________________
Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
|
| Back to top |
|
| bartist |
| Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 6:49 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6965
Location: Black Hills
|
As
whiskeypriest: Rene Zellweger
so
barton: Glenn Close
Which explains why I've forgotten everything about The Paper.
Got a good Keaton fix rewatching Birdman yesterday, one of those films that improves on second viewing...you know where everything's going so you can really drink in the moments. It's a great movie with one ugly pimple on its face IMO, which is the critic, Tabitha and her bit about planning to shut down the play. It just rang false and leads into a rather obvious tirade and abuse that Keaton unleashes on
her. Nobody would hold a job long as theater critic if they set out to destroy plays before even seeing them. It gives us a cheap plot point 180 degree turn later on for her, but...meh. Otherwise, no complaints. |
_________________
He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
|
| Back to top |
|
| Befade |
| Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 10:40 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
|
Different strokes for different folks..........  I would no sooner watch Birdman again as Son of Saul again....... |
_________________
Lost in my own private I dunno. |
|
| Back to top |
|
| gromit |
| Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 4:07 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9016
Location: Shanghai
|
I'll definitely re-watch Birdman after a while.
Looking forward to it.
Not sure if there would be much to gain from a re-watch of Saul, except maybe to appreciate the camera movement and central performance.
Has anyone seen Victoria (a series of bad decisions leads to trouble)?
or
Malick's Knight of Cups (no idea what this is about -- initially I thought it was a cable tv series from the dvd cover -- and I don't care much for Malick)? |
_________________
Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
|
| Back to top |
|
| Befade |
| Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 3:41 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
|
| I like Malick. Haven't seen Knight yet. It's something about Hollywood movie insiders. |
_________________
Lost in my own private I dunno. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
