| |
| Author |
Message |
|
| Syd |
 Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 7:42 pm |
 |
|
Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12934
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
|
When We Leave stars Sibel Kekilli as a Turkish-German mother who flees her abusive husband in Istanbul to take refuge with her family in Berlin. However, she takes her young son with her and her family wants to return the child to his father, apparently because the culture thinks boys should be with their dads even if daddy is violent. I don't know what would happen if the child were a daughter, but I suspect that there wouldn't be a problem. The family is torn between rejecting her, and moments of affection that come out periodically. Many of the younger generation are worse--you quickly suspect an honor killing will be attempted, and you'd be right, but not necessarily in the way you expect. Sibel gets to cry a lot, sometimes sympathetically, sometimes not.
This is an award-winning movie that didn't connect to me like it's supposed to because I wanted more complexity. Kekilli, who is a very good actress and is great in Head-On and Game of Thrones, doesn't get to show her full range here, though she did win awards for the film. At one point when a gun is dropped on the ground, I was hoping she would grab it and eliminate some of the one-note male characters. But what the characters really need are restraining orders. Including against the daughter, who crashes too many events to which she is not invited.
Not my cup of tea, but if you're interested in the tensions involved, you might get wrapped up in it. |
_________________
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! |
|
| Back to top |
   
|
| bartist |
| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 10:47 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6964
Location: Black Hills
|
Some people take chemical substances to temporarily degrade the function of their brain and enjoy whatever silliness and frivolity that may result.
Apparently, I look for candidates for the Worst Film Ever Made, and then watch them in their entirety with the wife, while we make MST3000-like comments and laugh ourselves sick.
Now, sadly, I have FOUND the WFEM, and thus ends the thrill of the hunt.
"Groom Lake," a 2002 film written by, directed by, and starring William Shatner (do I really need to write the rest of this paragraph? Well, what the heck...) is my great white whale, my filmic Moby Dick and Holy Grail of Crap.
Shot on a budget of maybe $400 dollars, and supported by the willingness of Shatner friends to humiliate themselves for free (this means you, Dick VanPatten), "Groom Lake" is about UFO cultists in the desert of Arizona (apparently, Research missed the fact that Groom Lake testing grounds are in NEVADA), young love, the tender love between an Air Force scientist and his captured blob of purple vapor (ET minus a skeleton, skin, or distinct physical form), and how the tragedy of aggressive lupus may be overcome by pretty young girls (Amy Acker) who seek the spiritual wisdom that emanates from UFOs that look like giant flying purple jellyfish. No Flannery O'Connor wasting away for 20 years for this babe! It's also a film about going home, which is surely what anyone in a theater watching this would want to do, immediately. Which is why DTV was a good marketing choice.
Ed Wood would be envious. In almost every respect - dialog, acting, sets, camera work, editing - this is a stinker of massive proportions.
So why am I now recommending it? Well, first, I seek confirmation that I have indeed found the worst film ever made. Second, the DVD extra, an "interview with William Shatner" (he just talks to a camera on a tripod, there is no sign of an interviewer) is priceless beyond measure. Either Shatner really is an idiot, or this is one of the cleverest spoofs of a DVD extra ever made. Sometimes I wonder if Shatner is really both idiot and genius, there seems no other way to grasp his oscillations between cluelessness and what seems a sly deadpan wit. As Leonard Nimoy would say, "FASCINATING." |
_________________
He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
|
| Back to top |
|
| carrobin |
| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 10:54 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
|
| Just be thankful that at least Shatner isn't running for president. (Yet...) |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| marantzo |
| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 12:30 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 30 Oct 2014
Posts: 278
Location: Winnipeg: It's a dry cold.
|
Shatner can't be president because he's a Canadian.  |
_________________
Big bang, shmig bang; still doesn't explain how anything starts. |
|
| Back to top |
|
| carrobin |
| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 12:43 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
|
| Well, he'd still be better than Ted Cruz. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| marantzo |
| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 1:32 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 30 Oct 2014
Posts: 278
Location: Winnipeg: It's a dry cold.
|
 |
_________________
Big bang, shmig bang; still doesn't explain how anything starts. |
|
| Back to top |
|
| gromit |
| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 3:26 pm |
|
|
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9016
Location: Shanghai
|
Rewatched Michael Clayton on a friend's strong recommendation. Despite a lot of good performances, there's a lot to dislike here. I think it has an ugly look to it and a rather cool inert feel.
My main problem is why on earth would a lawyer hire goons and start having people killed over a corporate lawsuit. It makes no sense, and undercuts the whole film. While it wasn't at all clear to me how/why the chief counsel of an international firm knew how to contact hitmen.
And there's other nonsense along the way as well. Clooney suspects his friend and the head litigator was killed because he didn't leave a suicide note. Then Clooney says that the deceased was feeling on top of the world and ready to bust the case open. So it doesn't make sense that then he went and took pills to kill himself. Which sounds reasonable except the whole film Clooney is stressing that the guy is manic-depressive and constantly presses him to take his medication. The Big High followed by a Big Low is of course the basic concept of manic-depression (bipolar disorder, these days).
And after Clooney's car blows up, he runs over, tosses his wallet and watch in the car, and somehow that fools the police into believing that he died in the explosion/fire. That seems rather silly, so I guess it's possible that the police just pretend he was killed to entrap the killers. Or something. Of course, then the the watch and wallet were pointless -- unless that gave Clooney the idea of having the police agree to faking his death. Or whatever. Not sure why i have to patch up this significant point with speculation.
Most of the back-story, that Clooney is a high stakes gambler or the family issues seemed rather phony and weak. Even the family members calling him "Mickey" seemed phony for some reason. The generic thriller score didn't help and grated on me after the first 20 mins. Some of the dialogue is poor, some of it too on the nose.
Imo, the reason to watch the film is for Tom Wilkerson who really brings conviction and intensity to the portrayal of a crazy lawyer who decides to switch sides. Sydney Pollack is good as the senior/name partner, except for the one scene where he has an extended monologue which is a bit weak. Clooney is solid but kind of coasts through on weary charm. It occurred to me that the Michael Clayton role is rather similar to Clooney's role in Up in the Air, where he is also a businessman loner. Swinton is good at looking nervous and uptight -- though again it's ridiculous that she is the primary villain. Really, the casting is good and the acting well done. But the script is weak, and the I didn't like the style/direction much at all. Not really a film I needed to see twice. . . |
_________________
Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
|
| Back to top |
|
| whiskeypriest |
| Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 8:38 pm |
|
|
Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 6916
Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
|
marantzo wrote: Shatner can't be president because he's a Canadian. |
_________________
I ask you, Velvel, as a rational man, which of us is possessed? |
|
| Back to top |
|
| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2016 5:21 pm |
|
|
|
Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12934
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
|
| Gone with the Wind finally made it to the top of my Netflix queue. (I'd had it there for years and kept pushing it down.) It promply turned me off with the first title card. However, it's preparation for watching "The Birth of a Nation." Not Griffith's film, but Nate Parkers. |
_________________
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! |
|
| Back to top |
|
| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 10:28 am |
|
|
Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
|
Syd wrote: Gone with the Wind finally made it to the top of my Netflix queue. (I'd had it there for years and kept pushing it down.) It promply turned me off with the first title card. However, it's preparation for watching "The Birth of a Nation." Not Griffith's film, but Nate Parkers.
You'd never seen "Gone With the Wind"??? |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 10:31 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
|
| gromit--I also rewatched "Michael Clayton" recently--or tried to. It didn't hold up. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| carrobin |
| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 11:16 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
|
I liked "Michael Clayton."
"Gone With the Wind" should be seen regardless of political attitude; it's about Scarlett and Rhett, and everything else can go to hell. It's probably the high point of both Leigh's and Gable's careers. Rosemary Geddes, Alan Bates' secretary who had been Leigh's, told me that when she was interviewed by Alan, all he said was "if you were good enough for Vivien, you're good enough for me." And you'd better not say anything critical of her around Rosemary--Vivien Leigh was the most wonderful, thoughtful, charming person who ever lived, and all those people who said she had mental problems were liars. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Syd |
| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 5:53 pm |
|
|
|
Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12934
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
|
billyweeds wrote: Syd wrote: Gone with the Wind finally made it to the top of my Netflix queue. (I'd had it there for years and kept pushing it down.) It promply turned me off with the first title card. However, it's preparation for watching "The Birth of a Nation." Not Griffith's film, but Nate Parkers.
You'd never seen "Gone With the Wind"???
Nope. I made it to intermission. "As God is my witness, I'll never go hungry again." I guess she eats a lot in the second half. |
_________________
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! |
|
| Back to top |
|
| Syd |
| Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 7:34 am |
|
|
|
Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12934
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
|
| When I finish this, the Best Pictures I'll not have seen will be Cimarron, The Great Ziegfeld, Going My Way, The Lost Weekend, Gentlemen's Agreement, The Greatest Show on Earth, Midnight Cowboy, Godfather II, Ordinary People and The English Patient. I've only seen parts of Oliver since I dislike what I've seen. The hardest to get is Cavalcade, which is too bad because it's a pretty good film. |
_________________
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! |
|
| Back to top |
|
| bartist |
| Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 10:18 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6964
Location: Black Hills
|
Syd wrote: billyweeds wrote: Syd wrote: Gone with the Wind finally made it to the top of my Netflix queue. (I'd had it there for years and kept pushing it down.) It promply turned me off with the first title card. However, it's preparation for watching "The Birth of a Nation." Not Griffith's film, but Nate Parkers.
You'd never seen "Gone With the Wind"???
Nope. I made it to intermission. "As God is my witness, I'll never go hungry again." I guess she eats a lot in the second half.
spit-take!
I've seen most of the films on your Not Seen list. Only really liked Godfather II, of that bunch. When Obama spoke at that big eco conference at Lake Tahoe, he made a rather funny Godfather II joke (see the movie, that will make sense). |
_________________
He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
All times are GMT - 5 Hours
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
|
