Is the "Badlands" film you are referring to the 1973 movie with Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen, directed by Terrence Malick? I remember loving that film.
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Is the "Badlands" film you are referring to the 1973 movie with Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen, directed by Terrence Malick? I remember loving that film.
That's the one. It was recommended to me by someone who loved it. I did like it, but I just didn't get the narration by Sissy Spacek. I think the point was to let us know that she processes things in a child-like way and is highly influenced by her older, deranged boyfriend. But it was so constant and without variation that all it evoked in me was pity.Quote:
Originally Posted by Prospero
Anyhow, when I say slightly overrated I only say I think that because of its plaudits. Had I seen it without knowing anything about it I think I would have enjoyed it more.
He used to be a terrific director. "Days Of Heaven" is a stunning film and "The Thin Red Line" was also a great war movie. His visual sense is pretty unerring. But his two most recent films have flipped into self indulgent and pretentious tosh.
It's funny. I was going to say the movie was visually impressive. I noticed it but I don't have a great aesthetic for that...and I don't always trust myself to give a good judgment on that basis. But many of the scenes were beautiful.Quote:
Originally Posted by Prospero
I enjoyed The Thin Red Line a lot, but have never seen Days of Heaven. That might be one to watch.
Malick is what the French would call an Auteur, a film-maker with an individual, distinctive style -he is also one of the finest directors America has produced. Most of, if not all of his films, are informed by a (Christian) religious sensibility.
His first two films, Badlands (1973) and Days of Heaven (1978) are about outsiders who rebel against the society into which they cannot fit, and lose. Both are bathed in the light of a late summer afternoon that has been so prevalent in Malick's films. Both have a narration by a young girl who acts as a morally detached observer of events over which they have no control. The apparent amorality or nihilism of Kit in Badlands is the central issue which enables him to kill; the scene at the end when he seems to relish being arrested speaks volumes for his narcissistic personality. Malick, famously camera shy these days, acts in Badlands but is not credited (he is the man who calls at the rich man's house when Kit is there).
The Thin Red Line (1998) is a flawed attempt to deal with the issue of sacrifice in the Pacific Theatre of the Second World War; at its centre are two soldiers who either decline to be part of the sacrifice/fighting -(Pvt Witt, played by Jim Caviezel)- or Captn Staros (played by the wonderful Canadian actor, Elias Koteas) who disobeys the orders of Lt-Col tall (Nick Nolte). Sean Penn takes the role of the detached observer, as interlocutor of the troops, but it is clear an enormous amount of footage was shot and spliced together which accounts for the disjointed conclusion where the George Clooney character suddenly appears for no apparent reason.
The New World (2005) is a version of real events surrounding the arrival in Pennsylvania in 1607 of English settlers, particularly John Smith (Colin Farrell), who first encounters Pocahontas (Q'orianka Kilcher, I think she was 15 at the time they shot the film), and the tobacco farmer John Rolfe (Christian Bale) whom she married and who with him was presented at Court when they came to England. There are not many films about this period of American history and probably few as ravishing to look at. The early scene when Pocahontas first sees the English settlers is mesmerising while the people involved felt Malick had been fair with their history. Colin Farrell is not my 'cup of tea'. Although like The Thin Red Line the film suffers from too much footage being spliced into one film, I have seen this numerous times and always enjoyed it.
The Tree of Life (2011) may be Malick's masterpiece, it certainly compares well with Badlands. The film is a contrast between the life of nature and the life of grace and contains one of the few attempts in cinema to present the origins of life and Planet Earth, in the process exposing how dated and shallow the first part of Kubrick's 2001 has become (although it was always a shallow lie, as one would expect of this cinematic technician with limited intelligence). You cannot really empathise with this film if you do not at least understand the biblical references taken from Job, or the overall thrust which is to contrast people who accept life as it is, and those who attempt to change life on their own volition. A sensitive performance from Brad Pitt is enhanced by the superb acting of his young sons.
To The Wonder (2012) is an almost wordless essay on love and commitment. Its meaning lies in both the way in which Malick shoots the human body, and the way movement is used to unravel the concepts of love, fidelity and eternity which permeate the film, again, shot in late afternoon sunlight. I cannot pretend the film is appealing for a wide audience, but lovers of Malick's work will enjoy it. I certainly did.
Malick has three films in post-production, according to imdb.
A good breakdown of Malick's films by Stavros, but I must disagree regarding the most recent film. I loathed To The Wonder. It didn't work at all and was tedious beyond measure. Almost as tedious as the films of Bela Tarr.
Bela Tarr -one of Europe's finest and most challenging directors. I admit that I was disappointed with The Man from London, but Satantango, The Turin Horse, and Werckmeister Harmonies are masterpieces of precision. As was said in relation to his films and the work of Krasznahorkai on which they are based -'reality extended to the point of madness'.
I think you need to have a pure love of film to appreciate Malick, in which narrative alone is insufficient.
Oh I have a pure love of film sure enough but you insisting that Tarr's films are masterpieces does not make them so Stavros. The Turin Horse is anything but precise. it maunders on emptily for what seemed like hours. "Realty extended to the point of madness". Oh I think that I can concur with that.
I agree, but I think Tarr's best films are masterpieces, and that matters to me. I think you are wrong about The Turin Horse because it is indeed precisely constructed -the film resembles a novel by Beckett but without Sam's occasional shards of humour and wit, but as the film is about the last week of time that is not surprising. But while the father and daughter appear to do the same things every day at the same time eating each day a boiled potato, in fact there are glaring or subtle differences within each day, and the director has shaped the film like a piece of music so that the final day drifts into an eternal, elegiac silence. Wind plays a key role in the film, as does light, and you won't find many films filmed with such a translucent sense of light, a crucial element in a film in which light dies for ever. I would not recommend it in the way one can recommend a film with a conventional structure where the scene changes every three minutes, but as someone who has made films you know what it means to set up a shot and how long a take should last. Tarr gets it exactly right, in the context of his films, and the effect is part of the magic of cinema which is why we watch films.Quote:
Originally Posted by Prospero
I don't know if you saw it, but today's Guardian has a fascinating set of clips of long takes from tv programmes -I don't know much about the West Wing, but the take in this selection is amazing. I also don't know enough about tv to know what the best long takes are. But in film, I suppose we could start with....Bela Tarr?
http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-ra...ng-shots-on-tv
20 Feet from Stardom...on Netflix
Twenty Feet from Stardom (2013) - IMDb
Documentary on some of the better known backup singers through the times. Interviews with them and some of the people they worked with. With opinions offered on why some of them couldn't carry on solo careers and why some didn't want to. Well worth watching...even if only for the incredible vocal ability possessed by these singers (some of the stuff Lisa Fischer does with her voice honestly gives me chills...just wow...I had forgotten who she was...just bought one of her albums on itunes)
It will help reacquaint some of you with some favorite musical memories and perhaps have you listening to those songs differently.
Mud....on Netflix
Mud (2012) - IMDb
....a fine story - somewhat 'Twainish' (if I may be allowed usage of a made up adjective) performed by a fine cast.
Of Gods and Men, a French film about a small community of monks in Algeria working against the inevitable during the Islamist insurgencies of the 1990s. Beautifully filmed and acted. The scene where the monks consume their last supper to the accompaniment of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake is almost unbearably moving. Very strongly recommended.
That really is a great film, RL
The Raid 2
if you liked/loved the first one, you'll definitely like/love the second!
yup...gonna have to see that first chance I get.Quote:
Originally Posted by gottuwett
Alex Cross with tyler perry. it was not my idea to watch it and never have i actually turned off someone else's tv but that movie was such crap.
The Past (Asghar Farhadi 2013)
This is the third film I have seen by Farhadi, the others being About Elly (2009) and A Separation (2011). Unlike the last two made in Iran, this latest feature is set in France but like the other films explores the tensions, deceits, misunderstandings, and pain that a lack of candour in relationships can produce. Farhadi has a way of presenting these domestic dramas in a way which enables narrative to appear to focus on its subject while also skirting the core issues which remain long after the film ends. This is one serious and seriously fine director.
The Past Official Trailer #1 (2013) - French Drama Movie HD - YouTube
Sleeper, an early Woody Allen film. I hadn't seen this since it was first released and had forgotten how heavily he used to rely on slapstick in his early days. The first section is dumb but funny but then it goes downhill fast.
Sleeper - Banana Skin - YouTube
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stavros
Will be seeing it tomorrow. Thanks, Stavros
12 years a slave.
didn't like it at all. as with many academy award winning movies, i don't get the fuss.
Blackfish...
It's a difficult documentary to watch.
I mean, SeaWorld is, well, horrible.
"Prisoners". One of the most unpleasant films i've seen in a while.
Perhaps you can explain why. The acting is first class, as is the script. What it does is re-instate a moral dimension to that genre of movies in which people take the law into their own hands, and shows how their single-minded obsession can itself violate not just the law but the moral purpose behind it -you only need ask what this film would have been like with Stallion or Schwarzenegger to appreciate it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Prospero
Wadjda (Haifaa al-Mansour, 2012)
Filmed in Saudi Arabia with a mostly Saudi/German crew, this film concerns a 10-yr old girl who takes a fancy to a bicycle to challenge a local boy she knows to a race. Wadjda already makes money selling bracelets to girls in her school but the 800 Riyals (£128/$213) the new bike costs is way beyond her price range. The film shows both how she goes about obtaining the money for the bike, but in doing so depicts the difficulties that lie in the way of women, including 10 year olds in Saudi Arabia. The film deals with men taking more than one wife, although it does not attempt to show how, in this film the husband/father in fact does not have an 'Islamic' reason for doing so; and also with the relationship between spiritual and material things. It is a finely observed film with mostly non-professional actors who as is often the case do an impressive job, not least the young woman playing Wadjda (Waad Mohamed). It is not a profound film, it has no special dazzling film-making, yet in a quiet way it is a moving film from a country which has no public cinemas. The DVD has both a background film and Haifaa al-Masour's short film on the lives of women in Saudi Arabia, Women with Shadows (2005).
Wadjda - Official Trailer (HD) Saudi Arabia - YouTube
craptain america part 2
1st off...i swore off marvel movies but my friends coerced me into seeing this.
it is better than the 1st but that's not saying much.
i don't want to give away anything to those that have not seen it but to me, they painted themselves in a corner with the avengers and that is why this villain and retooling the storyline ultimately fails because no threat that craptain america can handle alone is important anymore after the events of the avengers and thor 2. if the earth can be hurt by other worlds, Marvel should just make avenger movies and stop with the individual storylines.
All the things you say about Prisoners are true Stavros. I found the portrayed oh human nature deeply ugly as were the motivations and the portrayal of violence. I didn't say it was a bad film.
I'm such a procrastinating doper I forgot to see that thing. If Stallone played Hugh Jackman's part and Schwarzenegger played Paul Dano's part would that have made it a better film? How about not only Jean-Claude Van Damme but the entire cast of Bloodsport with the Hacksaw Jim Duggan guy playing the creepy bastard? I've only seen the trailer so I can only be held to those standards for casting. Apologies in advance.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stavros
Anchorman 2
Closed Circuit
loved both
CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER
As i'm a very big Marvel fan so there was no way i'm missing out.
Although i may have to sit & endure the upcoming goofy looking
Guardian of the Galaxy, that's due in August though.
Capt America: Winter Soldier was everything the preview trailier made it out to be. Great superhero film !! the action was explosive and impressive despite some funky, shaky camera work at times. it was distant miles much better than the first original Capt film. First off, Scarlett Johanson as the Black Widow was just so stunning hot !! ..
this sequel had great hand to hand fighting, air fights (especially the Falcon) stunts, car chases, gun-fights, conspiracty plot, stunning new characters (see winter soldier) Nick Fury had probably one of the best car-combat scene since the Matrix: Reloaded. .i even saw Capt solo and singlehandedly taking out a jet-copter with such ease. i got more out of this Capt. America than both the original and the Avengers movie. in fact,i saw it twice in both 3-D and 2-D. (the 2-D worked much better for me)
Be interesting to see if Xmen: Days of Future Past will top the satisfication that Capt. 2 just put out.
Little follow-up here. Went to Best Buy and got Prisoners. Was $14.99 on Blu-ray. Good deal. Also picked up Blu-ray for Seven which was only $7.99. Tonight I either watch Prisoners for the first time or Seven for the 23rd time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dino Velvet
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL - Official International Trailer HD - YouTube
charming movie. not my favorite of his works, but it's quality.
Prospero's point about the ugliness of the people in the film is important, because you will find if you watch it that it doesn't have an 'avenging angel' character using violence as an excuse to solve a problem, which is how it would be handled by Stallion, Schwarzenegger or the tgirl-loving muscles from Brussels (who has been known to walk into a club in Pattaya and walk out with half a dozen beauties)...in fact you can argue in this film that the resort to violence creates more problems than it solves. Jake Gyllenhaal as the detective is in this context against type, he doesn't chew gum or have a cynical attitude to crime, or a drink problem, or guns slapped to his hip. I like Jake Gyllenhaal as an actor and don't think he has made an entirely duff movie.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dino Velvet
I saw Prisoners last night and loved it. It's difficult to discuss its message without giving spoilers. About half-way through I thought the movie was in danger of proselytizing a bit, but things were rounded out nicely. Because the moral of the story is sort of counter to the average person's intuition about violence, I don't mind having it put forth a bit aggressively. It's an insight worth emphasizing.
The acting was very good. The best for me was Hugh Jackman. I found him thoroughly believable. Terence Howard and the rest of the cast were very good too.
boyz n the hood. i saw it on youtube.
Thanks man. I like your take on Jean Claude Van Damme too. We Knighted him as one of The Expendables here but Wesley Snipes has the same honor so it's been watered down a bit through the sequels.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stavros
How films/documentaries can make a difference -- :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben
California Assembly debates SeaWorld legislation inspired by 'Blackfish':
http://www.examiner.com/article/cali...lackfish-video
A Field in England
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZsO4fQvqRA
Captain America: Winter Soldier.
Besides being a great action movie it make an interesting statement about our government spying on and manipulating us for its own power.
That theme was summed up in the after credits piece where some bad guy refers to "Hydra" the bad guys and "Shield" the good guys as two sides of the same coin.
that was mine favorite film of 2013. i played it 3 more times for friends and each time it was a treat. really loved the dialogue. the trailer you linked though really undermined the film imo- see this:Quote:
Originally Posted by maaarc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRRvzjkzu2U
Knowing (Alex Proyas, 2009)
I watched this movie with rising mirth on Film 4 last night. Nicolas Cage, as wooden as he has ever been, is a Professor of Astrophysics at MIT who, within the space of 24 hours and without question becomes converted to determinism/intelligent design, having raised the question in class as to whether or not Earth's position in the solar system is accidental or part of creative design. That MIT has Professors who, on seeing a 50-year old list of apparently random numbers works out that they have catalogued disasters makes it impossible for him to be sceptical or to even analyse the issues would be problematic in any scenario. His son is called Caleb but maybe should be Adam. To cut a long story short, the end of the world is predicted an duly arrives, but not before Calb/Adam and an Eve (they are both around 10 years old) have been spirited away by angels to a garden of eden complete with flowering tree (but only the one) as pseudo-Wagner plays out the film. More anti-science propaganda, in which intelligent design wins out of evolution. You might want to think again about sending little Johnny to MIT.
Knowing (2009) Movie Trailer Nicolas Cage - YouTube