oatmealblizzard Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Think I'm gonna go catch The Bourne Ultimatum tonight. I've been looking forward to this one. It looks like some true blue summer movie fun (except not completely retarded like most other summer flicks). Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted August 5, 2007 Share Posted August 5, 2007 Over the last 15 years, if I wanted to see a film like this I always had to drive to Milwaukee. But two weeks ago a small theater in our small city re-opened as a Cinema Brewhaus, which is great news for me: Instead of driving 40 minutes one way to see La Vie en Rose, I had only to drive two minutes down the neighborhood street. Actually, it's closer to a minute-and-a-half. Hopefully our community can support such a business venture... the crowd was a little sparse tonight. Link to post Share on other sites
GtrPlyr Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 My favorite Melville film. Simply perfect from start to finish. Speaking of Melville, I hope to finish watching this one tonight: Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Le Cercle Rouge is one of my favorite Melville pictures (although I slightly prefer Le Samourai). Delon is some kind of badass. I have a large interest in the short subject form, and yesterday watched a bunch of older ones, including a slate of very early Vitaphone shorts:Introductory Speech by Will H. Hays / 1926Overture: Tannhauser / 1926Mischa Elman / 1926Roy Smeck: His Pastimes / 1926Marion Talley: Caro Nome / 1926Zimbalist and Bauer: Kruetzer Sonata / 1926Giovanni Martinelli: Vesti La Guibba / 1926Anna Case in La Fiesta / 1926Opening Night / 1930 Also took in a handful of shorts directed by Fred Zinnemann early in his career:That Mothers Might Live / 1938The Story of Doctor Carver / 1938A Way in the Wilderness / 1940Forbidden Passage / 1941Your Last Act / 1941 Link to post Share on other sites
EL the Famous Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 beltmann, don't see that flick 'Dejavu' w/ Denzel...it bites balls and it bites them hard. Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 beltmann, don't see that flick 'Dejavu' w/ Denzel...it bites balls and it bites them hard.I liked it! Link to post Share on other sites
EL the Famous Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 really? i was enjoying it and then it got a little too hokey for me...and i like movies that bring the hokey. and, oft times, thee pokey. i think the wife was so disgruntled by it, i'm about one movie away from being relinqueshed of netflix duty. Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 It was easily one of the most ludicrous plots of the year--and I mean that in the best possible way. There's nothing wrong with sci-fi hooey, as long as the movie manages a certain degree of flair and internal logic. (It does get overly hokey near the end with the spiritual elements, but by then it had earned enough goodwill that I was willing to let it go.) i think the wife was so disgruntled by it, i'm about one movie away from being relinqueshed of netflix duty.Wanna go out with a bang? Give this one a shot. Sell it as "Memento with a love story!" Link to post Share on other sites
EL the Famous Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 haven't seen that one, but i know all about it...i'd also be relinquesed of my keys to the house w/ that choice. speaking of disturbing, did you ever catch The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things? whoa. Link to post Share on other sites
OOO Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 I'm watching season 3 of The Wire. there was a wilco song in the last episode I watched: Hoodoo Voodoo! Just another reason to love this show. Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 First non-Citizen Kane Welles picture I've ever seen. Totally awesome. I imagine I should be thankful it was the version that restored his 'vision.'EDIT: Oh, wait I saw Magnificent Ambersons once, and really liked that too. This Welles guy is going places I tell ya. Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 speaking of disturbing, did you ever catch The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things? whoa.Haven't seen it yet. Speaking of Asia Argento, she acted in three movies at this year's Cannes festival, and received some pretty great notices: Olivier Assayas' Boarding Gate, Abel Ferrara's Go-Go Girls, and Catherine Breillat's Une Vieille Maitresse. (And if you're having a Disturbing Festival, you could do worse than a slate of Breillat flicks. I'd start with Anatomy of Hell.) Link to post Share on other sites
EL the Famous Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Haven't seen it yet. Speaking of Asia Argento, she acted in three movies at this year's Cannes festival, and received some pretty great notices: Olivier Assayas' Boarding Gate, Abel Ferrara's Go-Go Girls, and Catherine Breillat's Une Vieille Maitresse. (And if you're having a Disturbing Festival, you could do worse than a slate of Breillat flicks. I'd start with Anatomy of Hell.) It's a real dark trip, man. I felt gross just watching it...peeped it on a lark from the free flicks on our digital cable. I'll check out Go-Go Girls based on the title alone. Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Anatomy of Hell was something else. Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Anatomy of Hell was something else.I intensely disliked it. Since the characters are so far removed from recognizable human behavior, Breillat tosses away their symbolic value, right next to their clothes. And if you're like me and think Breillat's basic premise is total hooey, it's easier to notice that she has nothing useful to say about the inescapable gulf between the genders. But I like some of Breillat's other movies. Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Renaissance / Christian Volckman / France / 2006 A gorgeous landmark in animation--live-action footage was painted over, rotoscoped into high-contrast black-and-white--but still one of the year's biggest disappointments. The dystopian sci-fi story (some nonsense about corporate greed and a covert attempt to unlock the secrets of immortality) is comprised of dull action and stock dialogue. There just aren't any characters or ideas to latch onto, which renders all that beautiful animation utterly soulless. There's never anything at stake other than style. Link to post Share on other sites
GtrPlyr Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 I intensely disliked it. Since the characters are so far removed from recognizable human behavior, Breillat tosses away their symbolic value, right next to their clothes. And if you're like me and think Breillat's basic premise is total hooey, it's easier to notice that she has nothing useful to say about the inescapable gulf between the genders. But I like some of Breillat's other movies.I haven't seen "Anatomy of Hell" but I've seen a few of Breillat's other films such as "Fat Girl" and a "Real Young Girl." Neither were fantastic films, but they did have some interesting elements to them. "Fat Girl" was most interesting when focusing on the relationship between the sisters, but of course in typical Breillat fashion she spent an inordinate amount of time with the sex scenes, that seemed there more to shock than to move the story along. I didn't particularly care for the ending either as it felt a little to forced, plus it stole the ending shot of Truffaut's "400 Blows" (the shot works in 400 Blows, not so much in this one.) Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 "Fat Girl" was most interesting when focusing on the relationship between the sisters, but of course in typical Breillat fashion she spent an inordinate amount of time with the sex scenes, that seemed there more to shock than to move the story along. I didn't particularly care for the ending either as it felt a little to forced, plus it stole the ending shot of Truffaut's "400 Blows" (the shot works in 400 Blows, not so much in this one.)Fat Girl is one of Breillat's better movies, I think. If you haven't already, you should check out Sex Is Comedy, because it's an interesting, somewhat successful companion piece. Anne Parillaud plays a film director much like Breillat, struggling to shoot two sex scenes from a movie much like Fat Girl (in fact, the lead actress in the movie-within-the-movie is the same actress from Fat Girl). Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 What I liked about Anatomy of Hell was that it was so different from anything I'd ever seen, it didn't allow me to get beyond experiencing it in order to critique it. Had to hand it to him for that. Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 What I liked about Anatomy of Hell was that it was so different from anything I'd ever seen, it didn't allow me to get beyond experiencing it in order to critique it. Had to hand it to him for that.That's how I felt about From Justin to Kelly. Link to post Share on other sites
GtrPlyr Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 Fat Girl is one of Breillat's better movies, I think. If you haven't already, you should check out Sex Is Comedy, because it's an interesting, somewhat successful companion piece. Anne Parillaud plays a film director much like Breillat, struggling to shoot two sex scenes from a movie much like Fat Girl (in fact, the lead actress in the movie-within-the-movie is the same actress from Fat Girl).I definitely agree that Fat Girl is one of her better movies. Despite my minor criticisms of the film, I did find it quite memorable and thought provoking. It's definitely better than some of the other "disturbing" films that came out around the same time such as Baise-Moi. I will have to search out "Sex Is Comedy," it sounds like an interesting premise for a film. Link to post Share on other sites
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