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Post by guttersnipe on Feb 21, 2020 13:00:16 GMT -8
Yeah it was quite awesome. It was surprising how it worked just as a solid mystery thriller not even taking into account the stylistic elements. I definitely dig all of it though, the stylish camera movements, the odd musical choices, it's all very effective. I was momentarily displeased with the alcoholic friend being the murderer. Til I found out it was a red herring. I think giallo must be one of the most difficult (or perhaps esoteric) subgenres of filmmaking it's possible to get into, so I'm pleased to know you're on its wavelength. Though it must be said, even as I typed that I feel like the Japanese equivalent pinku eiga is arguably more impenetrable, but then it does often come with more of a nihilistic and/or misogynistic flavour atop other idiosyncratic cultural barriers.
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Post by unkinhead on Feb 21, 2020 19:56:34 GMT -8
I saw Parasite finally. I thought it was excellent from top-to-bottom. I'm still processing how I feel about the explosive ending, but I'm leaning towards really liking it. The morse code thing is a little 'ehhhh' but no other complaints. More interesting for me even has been the neverending, overwhelming praise of it from more left-leaning sources such as Letterboxd (for obvious reasons). While I would say its far from the best film of all time, its definitely giving me second thought for Little Women as may favorite film of the year.
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Post by unkinhead on Feb 21, 2020 20:00:24 GMT -8
Yeah it was quite awesome. It was surprising how it worked just as a solid mystery thriller not even taking into account the stylistic elements. I definitely dig all of it though, the stylish camera movements, the odd musical choices, it's all very effective. I was momentarily displeased with the alcoholic friend being the murderer. Til I found out it was a red herring. I think giallo must be one of the most difficult (or perhaps esoteric) subgenres of filmmaking it's possible to get into, so I'm pleased to know you're on its wavelength. Though it must be said, even as I typed that I feel like the Japanese equivalent pinku eiga is arguably more impenetrable, but then it does often come with more of a nihilistic and/or misogynistic flavour atop other idiosyncratic cultural barriers. I have to say im rather surprised to hear you say this, i hardly found it difficult tbh (especially when compared to something from Ozu, Malick or Kieslowski for instance) and even my roommate was enjoying the more stylistic scenes (and skipping the rest)
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Post by guttersnipe on Feb 26, 2020 17:27:27 GMT -8
That's just been my experience; most people I know have come to giallo as a backtrack/history lesson on the American slasher, and some have immediately ran into a wall over the style and approach. Giallo has its roots in literature and a stylistic or tonal parallel with poliziotteschi and neo-noir, and I've unfortunately spent too much time in my life with people who don't want to pay attention to such formal concerns in cinema. (Though complaints about dodgy dubbing are fair.)
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Post by unkinhead on Feb 28, 2020 19:03:32 GMT -8
Exotica
Spellbinding. An easy go-to adjective, and the only one I can think to attempt and describe just how engrossing this film is. A masterpiece in marrying narrative and mood; as the moments linger on, an overwhelming feeling of mystery and wonder permeate each frame. There's something truly wonderful about how delicately the mystery unfolds, how we are given momentary glimpses of the past just to provoke further curiosity. With each thread revealed the emotions only build. It can't be understated how difficult a tightrope it is to walk between engagement and cohesion (dramatically, thematically, and otherwise) in such a fractured structure. Yet somehow Egoyan manages it.
There's such a great warmth to it too. A suprising amount of compassion and quiet understanding in an art-house world that would just as gladly dominate this subject matter with nihilism, cynicism, cruel ironies, miserablism, et al. I honestly can't think of another film that had me glued to the screen so effectively from minute one to the credits (Possession comes close, but even that took some time to get on its wavelength).
And all this praise not even speaking of its beautiful form! The patterned parallels of its characters, the ritualism, the usage of mirrors and other visual elements in keeping with its themes, or the juxtaposition of a mysterious, sleazy, and dark strip club and a bright beautiful field, in scenes which feel so opposingly tender and wholesome (albeit mysterious).
I can say with full confidence that this one quite easily cracks my top 50. Bravo.
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Post by guttersnipe on Feb 28, 2020 23:32:09 GMT -8
Why Egoyan isn't mentioned more often in the 'pantheon' of directors I'll never know.
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Post by ThirdMan on Feb 28, 2020 23:49:49 GMT -8
Unkinhead - Yeah, not bad for a softcore porno, eh?
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Post by unkinhead on Feb 29, 2020 12:25:27 GMT -8
Unkinhead - Yeah, not bad for a softcore porno, eh? Haha. You know given the title, the subject matter, and the directors reputation, I have to say I was very surprised at just how innocuous the film is from a sexual content perspective. Honestly it pretty much approximates scenes from the Bada Bing in The Sopranos. It never lingers on it either (unlike the Sopranos). The main female lead mostly just dances with her shirt unbuttoned the whole time. Why Egoyan isn't mentioned more often in the 'pantheon' of directors I'll never know. Yes I've made sure to add several of his other films to my watchlist. Though I'll admit it's pretty confounding to consider the guy that directed Exotica directed something like Chloe much later. It really is comically difficult to wrap your head around directors becoming 'bad' directors. The first attempts at film being choppy i understand, but it's the directors that as they get older that direct with much less competency that really perplex me (Egoyan, Coppola, Argento, etx)
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Post by ThirdMan on Feb 29, 2020 20:14:25 GMT -8
The first attempts at film being choppy i understand, but it's the directors that as they get older that direct with much less competency that really perplex me (Egoyan, Coppola, Argento, etx) Well you're in your little room And you're working on something good But if it's really good You're gonna need a bigger room And when you're in the bigger room You might not know what to do You might have to think of How you got started sitting in your little room
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Post by guttersnipe on Mar 1, 2020 7:50:09 GMT -8
Tarantino once summed up his perspective on directors losing it in a TV interview with Fiona Apple by holding his arm out straight and then dropping it, directly equating poor artistry with impotence. I don't know about that (presumably he thinks the same of the menopause in women), it's fair to say that it's not uncommon for filmmakers to work way beyond a typical retirement age for any other profession - I guess the creative spirit doesn't necessarily tally with self-awareness of ability.
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Post by unkinhead on Mar 5, 2020 0:27:34 GMT -8
Saw BlackKklansman, Hush, and Doctor Sleep (pretty bad, pretty good, and entertaining but meh, respectively)
X-posted BlackKklansman from letterboxd
Did you know it's naive to believe America wouldn't elect David Duke for President of the United States....get it? Because Trump is basically David Duke. Did you know that racists used firearm targets that resembled black children?
Spike Lee's always skirted the line between hard hitting political drama and political propaganda. As a filmmaker, he seems to attract his base much like a politician; he gains the favor of the left and the distaste of the right. In this way, Spike Lee films will likely appeal to you to the degree Lee's worldview resembles your own.
For me, after what I consider to be his only masterpiece in: "Do the Right Thing", it's been hard to find a film that feels genuine and honest, rather than politically possessed.
BlackKklansmen is a continuation of this trend. My main concern however isn't with any political misalignment (as politically over-the-top as his subtleties often are), but with poor craft. BlackKklansman is somehow both incredibly fangless and crowdpleasy while still featuring Lee's signature heavy handed didacticism.
There's some enjoyable comedic aspects such as David Dukes' sermon on the difference between how white and black people speak, but honestly I was disappointed that this great a concept delivered on so little of the comedic goldmine contained in the premise.
The conclusion is mostly just more corwdpleaser wish fulfillment, before it veers into film-school pretension, and i say that evaluating this as a 'film', understanding that the subject matter is incredibly serious and important.
BlackKklansman is a piece of the 'woke' filmmaking genre that's sure to win over the majority, but ultimately represents a very weak outing in Lee's catalog.
"I'm a cop!"
"Show us your badge!"
"Okay its in my pocket"
Bullshit!!!!!!! *Beats ron
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Post by unkinhead on Mar 5, 2020 0:53:06 GMT -8
Well you're in your little room And you're working on something good But if it's really good You're gonna need a bigger room And when you're in the bigger room You might not know what to do You might have to think of How you got started sitting in your little room Tarantino once summed up his perspective on directors losing it in a TV interview with Fiona Apple by holding his arm out straight and then dropping it, directly equating poor artistry with impotence. I don't know about that (presumably he thinks the same of the menopause in women), it's fair to say that it's not uncommon for filmmakers to work way beyond a typical retirement age for any other profession - I guess the creative spirit doesn't necessarily tally with self-awareness of ability. Heh. Yes I've heard him claim before that directors aren't good when they get 'old'. I suppose there are obvious exceptions though.
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Post by guttersnipe on Mar 5, 2020 7:38:45 GMT -8
From around the age of six, I had the habit of sketching from life. I became an artist, and from fifty on began producing works that won some reputation, but nothing I did before the age of seventy was worthy of attention. At seventy-three, I began to grasp the structures of birds and beasts, insects and fish, and of the way plants grow. If I go on trying, I will surely understand them still better by the time I am eighty-six, so that by ninety I will have penetrated to their essential nature. At one hundred, I may well have a positively divine understanding of them, while at one hundred and thirty, forty, or more I will have reached the stage where every dot and every stroke I paint will be alive. May Heaven, that grants long life, give me the chance to prove that this is no lie. I absolutely agree that QT's claim is generally true, and with you that there are clear exceptions - I think Manoel de Oliveira's best films were made in his nineties. As for Tarantino himself, I dare say he'll be true to his word and self-impose retirement after his tenth film, though I suspect the mooted Kill Bill vol. 3 will be treated as simply part of "the whole bloody affair" and there will also be a 'genuine' swansong. As I have the 2010s down as his decem horribilis (comparatively speaking!), I hope it's a real show-stopper.
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Post by Jeremy on Mar 6, 2020 12:38:05 GMT -8
I agree with Unkin on BlacKkKlansman. Think I've written this before, but I think the film's underlying issue is that it presents a base and heavy-handed message that everyone will agree with, except for people who wouldn't be watching the movie in the first place. (Can't speak for Lee's general filmography, as I haven't seen much else of it.)
I've lately considered starting a Letterboxd page of my own, but I haven't had much time for movies these last few weeks. Hoping to right that wrong soon.
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Post by unkinhead on Mar 9, 2020 13:07:24 GMT -8
Warrior (2011)
I was interested in seeing Warrior after seeing the general reception of the film being so positive from both the art-housy crowd on Letterboxd and the general public crowd on IMDB and similar, despite it seemingly wholly predictable and standard.
Well...the movie is incredibly predictable, unsurprising, and directed in a workmanlike manner for the bulk of its runtime. Oh the movie itself? It's actually pretty great! Warrior demonstrates the power of archetypes by properly building them through effective narrative. Warrior doesn't work because it changes the game, it works because it leverages core archetypal themes of competition, family rivalry, and masked pain. Why deivate from the old archetypal emotional keynotes when recurring wisdom shows us how these stories speak to us on a base emotional level over and over again.
Part of the reason it works so well is because despite its predictability, each plot point feels believable and powerful, and is bolstered by very good performances (especially from Tom Hardy). Warrior develops a great natural tension in this familiar territory, both in its MMA plot machinations and its family drama. It's a lot of fun and a film well worth watching.
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