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| jeremy |
 Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:35 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 6794
Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)
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| Aren't all men sometimes astounded by the choices some women make...and no doubt vice versa too. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:52 pm |
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I'm not astounded when they pick someone who is not an Adonis, but sweet and intelligent. I'm astounded when they get tied up with a colossal prick, regardless of looks. And I know I have a lot of company in the male population who have seen this all too often.
I found the match between Juno and Cera's character very unlikely at the start, but he really grew on me and it seemed like a very good match by the end. She was right, he was cool. I love the exchange when she says that she loves the way he is cool without even trying and he replies that he tries very hard. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:00 pm |
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| As far as Jeremy's vice versa, there are men that astound me in their choices (though I'm not a woman, in this life anyway). When I see an otherwise attractive and intelligent guy married or living with a good looking, though ditsy woman, I can't imagine how he can spend any time with her outside of the sack. |
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| tirebiter |
| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:18 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4011
Location: not far away
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:21 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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billyweeds wrote: Marc wrote: What the fuck did the beautiful Juno see in the boneheaded boy she fell in love with? Talk about a mouth breather.
Every single woman I have talked with who saw Juno (and/or Superbad) thinks Michael Cera is adorable and sexy.
I thought he was sweet. He could have been a real jerk, ditched Juno, etc. Instead he was always there as her friend.
One also senses how he is in over his head, doesn't have the faintest idea how to deal with teen fatherhood, but at the same time accepts his plight with the full level of maturity he has for his age.
And besides in case you haven't noticed, love is blind. |
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| Nancy |
| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:45 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4607
Location: Norman, OK
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bart wrote: Ebert? I think he's a terrific critc, and you know where he's coming from, but I have different tastes so far as small studio films go. In a way, he has broader tastes than I do. That said, I may get dragged to Juno anyway this week. Half the time I get dragged to a film (usually bargaining is involved where film companion then has to accompany me to some genre thing they dread....) and end up vastly surprised, so you never know.
bart,
I had heard lots of gushing about how good Juno was, so I was prepared to be disappointed, but I was pleasantly surprised. It actually is one of the best films of the year. I enjoyed it. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:47 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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Just saw Charlie Wilson's War again on the small (computer) screen, and must say I liked it quite a bit better than I did in the huge theater I saw it in Christmas Day. It will never be a favorite of mine, but the smaller screen and the home setting lowered expectations and improved the viewing experience.
Hanks's and Roberts's performances seemed much more effective this time. Hoffman still stole the movie.
It was an adept if not memorable blend of drama and comedy, thanks to Mike Nichols. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 7:41 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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Glad to hear all the positive reviews of Juno. It wasn't really on my radar but now I'm looking forward to it. I think my positive experience with Waitress helps too ... not that they are terribly related.
But I saw another of the year's pregnancy pics: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Unless I'm missing something, the title is a bit odd in its preciseness just based on logic, but also given the fact that the knocked-up-ee is rather vague about the time frame involved.
This is a Romanian film set in 1987, and man is it a downer. Everybody is so dour and unsmiling, unhelpful service workers, and a general air of fatalism permeating the air. At least there are no drunks and alcoholics as found in most Eastern European + Russian films.
It's fairly well done and gave me much more a feeling of dread than any film I remember in quite a while. With that said, I think I'm already getting a bit tired of the Romanian tendency to have a fixed camera and people wander in and out of the frame, while frequently part of the action is just slightly out of the frame when characters are there. It's a flat, somber technique, as though even the cameraman is depressed.
One small problem I had was with the subtitles They were not in perfect English, though fairly good. But frequently the subtitles zoomed by too quickly, and often came on-screen slightly after a character started talking. Usually I wait longer to pick up a good Dvd9 copy of a new film, but I was really interested in seeing this one. Good film, but depressing. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 8:07 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12895
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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billyweeds wrote: Marc wrote: What the fuck did the beautiful Juno see in the boneheaded boy she fell in love with? Talk about a mouth breather.
Every single woman I have talked with who saw Juno (and/or Superbad) thinks Michael Cera is adorable and sexy.
I think he'd look pretty good if you were a 16-year old girl. And totally unsuited to be a father at that age. I see a lot of boysenberry-flavored condoms in his near future, |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 8:07 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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As to these depressing Romanian films - one comment I have is that I believe that Romanians are now just beginning to "vent" the kind of despair and hopelessness they felt under communism.
While the country is beginning to become somewhat of a showplace today, people who lived under communism are eager to tell you about how difficult their lives were then. For example, just about every day our guide spouted another story about how oppressive things were. As a person in the travel business, she was permitted to leave the country frequently back then. However, she felt that her phone and car were bugged...and she mentioned that she could never bring a foreign guest to her apartment.
You could say that the entire population of a certain age is suffering from PTSD, perhaps.
I didn't mind our guide's "venting" - as her stories were very interesting. But perhaps for some reason (EU film financing??), there is a sudden reason to be making the films of this dismal period in Romanian history now.
As to the fixed camera...I haven't a clue unless the use of real locations is a limitation. I don't believe that the DVD is available yet in the U.S. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 8:46 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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Location: Shanghai
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The fixed camera was prevalent in 12:08 East.
Action slightly out of the frame occurs in 12:08, 4/3/2, and Paper Will be Blue.
4,3, 2 also employed a handheld shaky camera late in the film which was a jarring contrast from the earlier fixed camera. This was an awfully dark night scene and was meant to convey the character's sense of insecurity and hurry.
4,3,2 explicitly takes place in pre-Revolution Romania (1987). I feel like I wouldn't want to spend much time in Romania or hanging out with Romanians. There was not much drinking in 4,3,2 but everyone seemed to smoke a lot, and make a big effort to get contraband US brands.
When I first came to China in the mid-90's I was often asked if I was a spy. I still have to register with the local police every time I get a new visa or move. When you check into a hotel in China, the hotel registers you with the local police. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:00 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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gromit wrote: The fixed camera was prevalent in 12:08 East.
Action slightly out of the frame occurs in 12:08, 4/3/2, and Paper Will be Blue.
4,3, 2 also employed a handheld shaky camera late in the film which was a jarring contrast from the earlier fixed camera. This was an awfully dark night scene and was meant to convey the character's sense of insecurity and hurry.
4,3,2 explicitly takes place in pre-Revolution Romania (1987). I feel like I wouldn't want to spend much time in Romania or hanging out with Romanians. There was not much drinking in 4,3,2 but everyone seemed to smoke a lot, and make a big effort to get contraband US brands.
When I first came to China in the mid-90's I was often asked if I was a spy. I still have to register with the local police every time I get a new visa or move. When you check into a hotel in China, the hotel registers you with the local police.
I've only seen 12:08 (not the others) which used mostly actual locations. Most of these were very small so you'd need a steadicam or have to use a zoom to avoid the fixed camera.
The film had a low budget look, so I'm not sure that a steadicam was even an option.
One thing I noticed was that in the TV studio during the TV show there was a lot of very bad camera work - I felt that this was _on purpose_ to show what a small time operation this was. After all, the TV host/stn. owner had gotten into TV after being in the textile business. I found this a nice touch on the part of the filmmaker and felt that it added a bit of humor to the film.
I don't remember if the DVD I watched had a commentary on it or not. After seeing "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu" and "12:08" I needed a break! |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:23 pm |
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Joined: 12 May 2004
Posts: 4246
Location: Montreal
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marantzo wrote: I love the exchange when she says that she loves the way he is cool without even trying and he replies that he tries very hard.
That was my favourite moment. Writing and acting in perfect harmony becoming more than the sum of their parts. Perfect. |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:33 pm |
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Joined: 12 May 2004
Posts: 4246
Location: Montreal
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| Saw The Diving Bell & the Butterfly, and while it's inarguably a fine film it's nowhere near the level of other big name Oscar bait from this year. Why critics are wetting themselves over this small and personal story is a mystery. The Sea Inside with Javier Bardem covered the same ground a couple of years ago. |
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| chillywilly |
| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:38 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 8250
Location: Salt Lake City
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billyweeds wrote: Just saw Charlie Wilson's War again on the small (computer) screen, and must say I liked it quite a bit better than I did in the huge theater I saw it in Christmas Day. It will never be a favorite of mine, but the smaller screen and the home setting lowered expectations and improved the viewing experience.
Hanks's and Roberts's performances seemed much more effective this time. Hoffman still stole the movie.
It was an adept if not memorable blend of drama and comedy, thanks to Mike Nichols.
This is good to hear, billy. And much agreed (once again) on Hoffman stealing the movie. His performance was so good. |
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"If you should die before me / Ask if you could bring a friend" |
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