Rate The Last Movie You Saw.

[pathoftheturtle]

... Snatch
... Like Lock, Stock, it's packed full of characters and plot threads that it's difficult to keep track of them all at times. Personally, whilst I enjoyed both the story and the visual style, I didn't find it as hysterical as Lock, Stock, but that's not to say I didn't find it funny at all. ...

Agreed. + I felt like there was a bit more going on in it to make it a better overall film, tho not a funnier comedy.

Will watch Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind as soon as I can, seems like it may be a film for bears.

Yes, I'd say so: beautifully made, darkly twisted and sentimental at the same time. (And then, let some time pass & watch Synecdoche, New York for pure, hardcore insanity.)
Most of the others on ShannonsMovies's list, I'm sorry to say, are overrated recent flicks, IMO.

[Seymour_Glass]

God, I love Charlie Kaufman.

[pathoftheturtle]

Black Swan

A very good film indeed, tricky and twisted.

If we take it at face value, the only emotion left would be that of deep bewilderment. The story is the silliest possible, the acting atrocious, the ballet scenes absurd, the characters cliched, the finale ridiculously tasteless, the dialog stillborn, the visuals borrowed.

Portman fails miserably to portray anything plausible; during the whole film she is walking about with one single facial expression, namely, a sorrowful frown and mouth half-open – exactly what mediocre actresses do when they try to look like anything in an average American film. The ballet is nothing but amateurish ballroom dance: much clumsy waving of hands, rigid arms, heavy walk on the floor; choreography is nonexistent. All other characters do what could already be seen in countless films – and fail to deliver even that much, leaving a sour aftertaste of outstandingly bad acting. There is not a scene in the film that doesn’t evoke another scene in another film – only in a crude, tawdry, or inefficient way.

All of the above totally blurs the line between hallucination and reality. All of the above works perfectly towards questioning the solidity of our own existence.

I take my hat off to Aronofsky. Using such extreme methods he too could have failed. Or he could have slid into sheer postmodern mockery; or a genuine spoof, parody, lampoon. Could have been very funny, kind of arthouse that mocks all existing cinema; only it is not funny, because in the end it mocks all existing existence. Outwardly postmodern, it suddenly becomes essential.

I haven’t read any review yet and don’t know if any critic at all have seen it as I have; I will look it up at the Rotten Tomatoes as soon as I can.

I believe you may be onto something, but I do not think that human existence is the ultimate point; it's about artists. It mocks the media at most, I guess. Including the medium of the body and every form used in all types of artistic expression that we can sense physically or conceive of intellectually. It's what can really be put into art -- that's the point of this film, I think.

[Seymour_Glass]

I would agree. Black Swan and Aronofsky's previous effort, The Wrestler, share a theme of sacrifice for one's art.

[Still Servant]

I would agree. Black Swan and Aronofsky's previous effort, The Wrestler, share a theme of sacrifice for one's art.

Exactly. Actually, Aronofsky intended the The Wrestler and Black Swan to be one film. The film was going to show the extreme toll each form of entertainment takes on the mind and body. I find it very interesting how there are so many similarities between the two professions given how different they are. Wrestling is brutal and violent. Ballet is elegant and sophisticated.

[Heather19]

Will watch Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind as soon as I can, seems like it may be a film for bears.

Yes, I'd say so: beautifully made, darkly twisted and sentimental at the same time. (And then, let some time pass & watch Synecdoche, New York for pure, hardcore insanity.)

Oh definitely Jean. I really think you'd enjoy this one.


And I still need to watch The Wrestler.

[Mattrick]

I would agree. Black Swan and Aronofsky's previous effort, The Wrestler, share a theme of sacrifice for one's art.

Exactly. Actually, Aronofsky intended the The Wrestler and Black Swan to be one film. The film was going to show the extreme toll each form of entertainment takes on the mind and body. I find it very interesting how there are so many similarities between the two professions given how different they are. Wrestling is brutal and violent. Ballet is elegant and sophisticated.

I always felt it was interesting to show the difference between being a female entertainer and a male one. Ballet dancers are an image of perfection - beautiful, graceful and elegant. Professional Wrestlers, especially in the 80's were an epitome of manliness, strong, tough and captivating. We see the pressures of both professions are similar to the pressures of their genders.


Jean, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of my favourite movies. You can't go wrong with ANYTHING written by Charlie Kaufmann. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine and Synecdoche, New York...all amazing movies.

[Yaksha]

Brick

Noir. French for black film. Simply put, I love Noir. Hardboiled detectives with a criminal mastermind hidden behind the scenes. You never know who to trust. And there is a girl in trouble. There's always a girl. Noir films and novels makes us think, to always look beyond what we are seeing and reading. Because you can never take anything on face value. Everyone has a hidden agenda and the Hero can trust no one. The most famous Noir masterpiece that everyone has at least heard of is The Maltese Falcon starring Humphrey Bogart based off of the novel by Dashiell Hammett who is considered king of the Noir genre. I mention this because Brick a 2005 neo noir film, pays tribute to Sam Spade in many ways.
First off the cast. This cast is amazing. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emile de Ravin, Nora Zehetner, Matt O'Leary, Lukas Haas, with an appearance by Richard Roundtree. This characters seem like real people we would know in high school. The story is a little weird at first but it grows on ya. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is our lead playing Brendan, the school outsider who is also very intelligent. Getting a call from his ex-girlfriend where she asks for help and mentions the words "pin" "tug" and "brick"
Then she turns up dead. This sends Brendan on a quest to figure out what happened to her and why. he delves into the schools underbelly of the rich and popular kids, the drug addicts, the drama students, and a drug kingpin. The story keeps you guessing, and rarely gets boring. The dialogue is fast paced and seems natural. And there are references to Hammett weave that some might not get, but it is there.

I put this up there as one of my favorite movies. It is really a character driven story that is a throwback to previous Noir masterpiece. If you like a good detective story, you can't go wrong. If you are a fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, you can't go wrong. definitely worth a watch. 9.5/10

[mystima]

Just saw Sucker Punch. I liked the way they took the story. Using one's imagination to help go through something horrible. The main character's name is Baby Doll. She is taken to an asylum for the 'criminally insane' where she is being prepped for a lobotomy. You see her close her eyes and she is taken to a different place and you think "wow what will happen to her now." She is told she has to dance for the 'owner' of this so called burlesque club where the girls there are all stuck there. Baby Doll dances but you never see her dance. She thinks her way to a new place and is greeted by 'the wise one' who tells her she needs 5 things. But she is also told that the fifth thing is something unknown. Each time she dances she is sent on a mission in her imagination. I like the music they used to fuse the scenes together. It is a movie I would suggest to those that like strong girls that take action type movies. Gave it a 4.5 out of 5.

[Seymour_Glass]

Brick is incredible.

[Jean]

Heather : how about making something like Macbeth festival? There are at least three very worthy versions by the best directors of all times; we could try some comparative analysis.

Oh we should! That would be fun. I'm actually not sure if I've ever seen any version of Macbeth

well, this is a wonderful opportunity to fill this gap at least. I fully expect DD and Seymour to participate (maybe feverish too?), and I would really really wish Melikey and Brice would come back to join the festivities.

Jean, have you ever done a ranking of Polanski's films? Or would that be too hard to do.

No, it wouldn't be too hard: it would be plain impossible. If I had to chose one, it would be The Tenant; if I had to list top five, they would be The Tenant, The Pianist, Cul-de-Sac, Kinife in the Water and The Tragedy of Macbeth; but all the rest of them is top anyway.

I never rate real films, I think a "director's film" (as opposed to a "producer's project") rates 10 by definition. There are no degrees to art; no criteria for rating. I can say that I love Kurosawa and hate von Trier with a passion, but any von Trier is a masterpiece whether it appeals to me or not. One can't quantitatively compare The Sixtine Madonna with Women of Arles, or the Chaconne with Italian Symphony - or Spellbound with Repulsion.

I believe you may be onto something, but I do not think that human existence is the ultimate point; it's about artists. It mocks the media at most, I guess. Including the medium of the body and every form used in all types of artistic expression that we can sense physically or conceive of intellectually. It's what can really be put into art -- that's the point of this film, I think.

But wouldn't this be preaching to the choir? Or rather, using a guided missile to swat a fly? I mean, comparing to the means used, the idea seems to be rather trivial? Then again, this view takes into primary consideration the characters, and they are painted on cardboard - on purpose, as I firmly believe - but the point made seems to go far beyond their cartoon passions and cranberry-juice blood.

And, of course, bears will start looking for both Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Synecdoche, New York right now.

[DoctorDodge]

Brick

Noir. French for black film. Simply put, I love Noir. Hardboiled detectives with a criminal mastermind hidden behind the scenes. You never know who to trust. And there is a girl in trouble. There's always a girl. Noir films and novels makes us think, to always look beyond what we are seeing and reading. Because you can never take anything on face value. Everyone has a hidden agenda and the Hero can trust no one. The most famous Noir masterpiece that everyone has at least heard of is The Maltese Falcon starring Humphrey Bogart based off of the novel by Dashiell Hammett who is considered king of the Noir genre. I mention this because Brick a 2005 neo noir film, pays tribute to Sam Spade in many ways.
First off the cast. This cast is amazing. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emile de Ravin, Nora Zehetner, Matt O'Leary, Lukas Haas, with an appearance by Richard Roundtree. This characters seem like real people we would know in high school. The story is a little weird at first but it grows on ya. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is our lead playing Brendan, the school outsider who is also very intelligent. Getting a call from his ex-girlfriend where she asks for help and mentions the words "pin" "tug" and "brick"
Then she turns up dead. This sends Brendan on a quest to figure out what happened to her and why. he delves into the schools underbelly of the rich and popular kids, the drug addicts, the drama students, and a drug kingpin. The story keeps you guessing, and rarely gets boring. The dialogue is fast paced and seems natural. And there are references to Hammett weave that some might not get, but it is there.

I put this up there as one of my favorite movies. It is really a character driven story that is a throwback to previous Noir masterpiece. If you like a good detective story, you can't go wrong. If you are a fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, you can't go wrong. definitely worth a watch. 9.5/10

Brick is incredible.

Agreed. Easily one of my favourite films of the last decade. Been far too long since I last watched it, actually. Need to sort that once I've crossed a few more films off my "must watch asafp" list.

Heather : how about making something like Macbeth festival? There are at least three very worthy versions by the best directors of all times; we could try some comparative analysis.

Oh we should! That would be fun. I'm actually not sure if I've ever seen any version of Macbeth

well, this is a wonderful opportunity to fill this gap at least. I fully expect DD and Seymour to participate (maybe feverish too?), and I would really really wish Melikey and Brice would come back to join the festivities.

Macbeth was always a play I loved studying at school, and I'm very intrigued as to how Macbeth would look like in Polanski's vision, as well as any other interpretations. Just let me know when you plan to start and I'd be happy to join in.

[Jean]

[pathoftheturtle]

... Ballet dancers are an image of perfection - beautiful, graceful and elegant. ...

That is, the White Swan, anyway.

... Black Swan and Aronofsky's previous effort, The Wrestler, share a theme of sacrifice for one's art.

But what does she sacrifice? Comfort, yes; she endures some pain for the sake of doing well. Yet it still seems that the motive purely is self-glorification. In this case, the key is that she sacrifices her own innocence… which is just another way of saying that she does wrong. It’s proof of the principle that one who really hates has already committed murder in her heart. But, even though she ends up hurting herself, she does it all just for applause, right?

I believe you may be onto something, but I do not think that human existence is the ultimate point; it's about artists. It mocks the media at most, I guess. Including the medium of the body and every form used in all types of artistic expression that we can sense physically or conceive of intellectually. It's what can really be put into art -- that's the point of this film, I think.

But wouldn't this be preaching to the choir? Or rather, using a guided missile to swat a fly? I mean, comparing to the means used, the idea seems to be rather trivial? Then again, this view takes into primary consideration the characters, and they are painted on cardboard - on purpose, as I firmly believe - but the point made seems to go far beyond their cartoon passions and cranberry-juice blood.
...

I don't know, honestly. It's interesting, though. I wonder. Again I'd say that you're right about the characters, but I'm not sure I see what you think that the real message is. This is a movie about the dark side of artistic effort. It shows the negativity. But where’s the positive? I hadn’t really thought about it before I read your comments, but it is true that there’s some self-deconstruction about it. All of the elements are thin. Notably, consider the outward art in the climax. It's an assumed feature. The presentation implies that her dancing is incredible, the plot evokes incredible dancing for its continuity, and so we accept that she danced incredibly. The story says so. This is film, though: not including actual images of really great ballet clearly says something. That is just not necessary in a book, it would only mean that it IS a book. It could still be a book about great ballet. Here, however, it must mean that great ballet is not necessary to what this is about. The movie is definitely postmodern to some degree. In fact, I’m thinking at this point that it’s totally postmodern. What are we left with in essence? It begs the question of the difference between good and evil, but I don’t see any answers. Everything superficial is cast out, and if something special is thereby spotlighted, then I’m just not getting it. Either this understatement says that the character's gift to her audience was so sublime that it would have been pointless to try to depict it literally or to try to create it for us, the real audience, or else it says that what she achieved was just not worth it in any sense. And if the basic theme of this artwork really is the meaninglessness of art in general, then that is of course as postmodern as can be.

[fernandito]

Either this understatement says that the character's gift to her audience was so sublime that it would have been pointless to try to depict it literally or to try to create it for us, the real audience, or else it says that what she achieved was just not worth it in any sense.

This. I think you hit the nail on the head right here. She achieved her somewhat vain accomplishment, but at what cost ? She achieved near physical perfection in exchange for her innocence like you mentioned, and quite possibly her soul.

[Seymour_Glass]

It reminds me of a Springsteen quote: "More than being rich, more than being famous, more than being happy, I wanted to be great." Nina sacrifices so much of herself to create a truly transcendent piece of art. Never mind that said ballet is never actually shown, the implication is strong enough. And when Thomas calls her "little princess," it isn't just hid go-to pet name; he's actually in awe of her and what she has done, illuminating a lot about his character. In the end, he's irrelevant. She gave it all up for one majestic performance.

[Shannon]

pathoftheturtle: "Most of the others on ShannonsMovies's list, I'm sorry to say, are overrated recent flicks, IMO"

No worries about not liking the movies I like. I love the fact that you and ten people can love one movie and that me and ten people can think it is total garbage. Love it love it.

For me, not all movies have to MEAN something, or anything like that, some of my favorite movies (i.e. The Dark Knight and Inception) and simply movies that are AMAZING to watch. You can't tell me the interrogation scene in TDK is not amazing, lol. I like what I like.

Brick and the Synedoche movie are now (eh, I'll spell check later) added to the "sure, I'll watch it" list.

[pathoftheturtle]

pathoftheturtle: ... For me, not all movies have to MEAN something, or anything like that, some of my favorite movies (i.e. The Dark Knight and Inception) and simply movies that are AMAZING to watch. ...

How ironic. Just so happens that The Dark Knight and Inception are among my favorites, and it's just because I think they're NOT simply movies that are amazing to watch but also mean something, or something like that.

My general philosophy is that you're either controlling your culture or else your culture is controlling you. I listen to people who say that they just want to be entertained sometimes and not always have to ask why it is they find some particular film entertaining, and when they name the same films I usually just find those reasons to be so obvious. And I think "You wouldn't all be so impressed by that without thinking about it if you had not all grown up in this country at this time."

[DoctorDodge]

pathoftheturtle: ... For me, not all movies have to MEAN something, or anything like that, some of my favorite movies (i.e. The Dark Knight and Inception) and simply movies that are AMAZING to watch. ...

How ironic. Just so happens that The Dark Knight and Inception are among my favorites, and it's just because I think they're NOT simply movies that are amazing to watch but also mean something, or something like that.

Agreed. Both examples are movies that not only work as great entertainment, but also work as films that have a little more depth than that, if you look hard enough. That's why Withnail & I is one of my favourite films: i didn't think of it as a work of art the first couple of times I watched it, but I just loved it because it was fucking hysterical. It was only on repeated viewings that I began to realise the lingering tragedy of it all.

Now Shannon, if you had mentioned Chronicles of Riddick as great entertainment, you may have had a point....apart from the fact that, with the exception of the tea cup scene, Riddick doesn't even work that well. Both original film Pitch Black and, surprisingly, video game Escape from Butcher Bay are vastly superior to it, entertainment wise. But meh, to each his own. I know how many people hate Scott Pilgrim, but I think it's brilliant, so like you said: different tastes 'n all.

[ICry4Oy]

Pitch Black was the greatest of the Riddick movies by far! I absolutely despised Scott Pilgrim. Hated myself for having wasted the time watching it. I found Dogtooth to be much funnier than Withnail too.

[divemaster]

Mattrick, I owe you one! The Last Exorcism is very good. Will post tomorrow, this is just to say a huge THANK YOU.

Just finished watching The Last Exorcism based on the comments here. I probably would never had noticed it if it were not for this thread, so thanks for that.

I liked it quite a bit. Didn't love it but it was fresh and genuinely creepy. I had no problem with the ending.

Spoiler:

I thought it was pretty clear that she was really possessed all along--NOT sleepwalking or "pregnancy shame" or psychosis or whatever. So when the final manifestation came, that was not a shock to me. After Cotton and his assistant talked to the town boy and then went back to the farm, I knew we'd discover something interesting. Maybe the father was calling forth the demon? Maybe he was already dead? I was surprised that the town paster was the cult leader pulling the strings. I feel sorry for the dad--all he wanted to do was protect his daughter and here the town pastor had snuck around and used her as a demon vessel. Bad! Bad pastor!

(I liked the way the movie had preacher Cotton recover his faith.)

[Shannon]

I DO have Chronicles Of Riddick in my top thirty. I love that movie. The action scenes are great, the being chased by the burning sun scene alone is worth mentioning. Just a fun movie. Love it. I watch more TV than movies ... how come you guys aren't in the TV show thread? (What are you watching now?) lol

[Mattrick]

Being chased by the burning sun is about the point when I realized Chronicles of Riddick was one of the worst movies I'd ever paid to see. It was so illogical. Then the movie turned into Macbeth and I really lost interest and the entire movie felt completely pointless. Pitch Black is awesome though.

[fernandito]

pathoftheturtle: ... For me, not all movies have to MEAN something, or anything like that, some of my favorite movies (i.e. The Dark Knight and Inception) and simply movies that are AMAZING to watch. ...

How ironic. Just so happens that The Dark Knight and Inception are among my favorites, and it's just because I think they're NOT simply movies that are amazing to watch but also mean something, or something like that.

Agreed. Both examples are movies that not only work as great entertainment, but also work as films that have a little more depth than that, if you look hard enough.

Double agreed. There is a sundry of subtle elements at play in TDK, you just have to know where to look. Many dismiss it as a serious work of art strictly because it's a 'comic book film', but the film is rich in allegory.

[Jean]

I really think that opposing "entertainment" to... well, to anything, in fact - is not quite correct. The real question is, what entertains one.