Random Film Thoughts: If Only I Could Have Posted ONE MORE!!

[lazarus]

+ = Schindler's List

+ + = Saving Private Ryan

+ + + = Munich

[Timmer]

= the Terminal

[Jeff Beachnau]

= Jurassic Park

[lazarus]

LOL, guys.

[puxzkkx]

Caught my first NZFF film, Pang Ho-Cheung's Love in a Puff. Lighter than air, but effortlessly romantic, often hilarious and touching with beautiful cinematography and a natural, realistic look at relationships. Great performances from leads Miriam Yeung and Shawn Yue, who have great chemistry. It is as much a love letter to Hong Kong as it is a love story between the leads, and it works great as a travelogue of the city. I also appreciated that in a film about smokers, there is no pro-tobacco message... indeed, the [Spoiler:] main characters even quit at the end. Definitely worth a look.

[Vizion]

Laura Linney, Liam Neeson aand Antonio Banderas in "The Other Man"



Laura Linney is the one and only good thing about this dull ass movie.

[Kgirl]

+ + + + + + + = Shutter Island

[Matt Mazur]

Originally Posted by Vizion

Laura Linney, Liam Neeson aand Antonio Banderas in "The Other Man"



Laura Linney is the one and only good thing about this dull ass movie.

I was actually howling with laughter at how bad this was.

[Chutzpah]

(posted this accidently in the previous F-Thoughts thread)


Will hype spoil Rock Hunter?


It's remarkable how a farce like Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? can feel simultaneously dated and far ahead of its time. The lead performances by Tony Randall and Jayne Mansfield were adequate but barely avoided being cringe-worthy in their unsubtle comic delivery and much of the humour can make you feel as if you’re watching zany modern cynicism during its awkward developmental stages, but boy, I'll be damned if I have seen a sharper and craftier comedy from this era. In our Mad Men culture, a clever picture like this one about a desperate advertiser phoning in a ludicrous relationship with an actress deserves to find a wider audience of appreciators. How a “classic” like the brainless and plodding It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World can be a household name while a genuinely intelligent satire like Rock Hunter remains a an overlooked gem is almost as depressing as Hunter’s brave message about capitalism, societal norms and an individual’s true sense of self.

The Freudian conflict was a surprisingly brilliant narrative device. The protagonist claims that a psychiatrist once told him that one part of him wants "success" while the other seeks "failure", summoning a few possible interpretations of the main want of our hero: does Mr. Hunter subconsciously desire to climb up the corporate ladder through little-to-no effort and live the American dream or do his true feelings beg for the simple life? There is also a coinciding theme of a world that is becoming shamelessly sexualized, where children will cheer for their swim-suit baring hero upon her arrival at an airport and where women will deteriorate themselves to fit the conformist image of the perfect scarlet (how exactly did all those tit gags get based censors?). Had the story not been a comedy with giddy musical sequences and fourth-wall breakage, the pro-individual theme and mockery of corporate culture may have earned Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? its fair share of criticism back in the days of Eisenhower, but this is far more of a tale of a man selling his soul for a false destiny than a political study.

Of course, the theme of striving for a superficial goal is played with a heavy-hand and yes, the whole picture is very silly (e.g, the admittedly funny but rather confusing final cameo at the rushed conclusion). Nonetheless, the superb staging by Frank Tashlin, Joseph MacDonald’s fan-fucking-tastic Technicolor photography, the surprisingly witty adapted script by Tashlin and a rolling pace all exceeded my expectations. It’s a wacky masterpiece, and it’s clear that New Wave auteurs love this film for more than just its social commentary and cutesy goofiness.





A success. See it.

[Gregory]

It's a wonderful film, arguably Randall's best peformance. Above all, while its social commentary is interesting, it works mainly because it is really, really funny. I need to see it again soon.

[Artimus]

It's hard approaching Casino having seen the superior Goodfellas, but even without Scorsese's better picture Casino would be a very flawed, somewhat inconsequential film. I liked it a lot but it never feels as relevant or pressing as Goodfellas. It's too long by far and the pacing makes it all too languid, never urgent. The stakes feel very low when they should be high. It's also the least effective editing job I've seen from Schoonmaker, but I think she was given a messy film from a messy script and managed to do good work with it. The whole thing just doesn't feel like it's firing on all cylinders. It never clicks. It feels by-the-numbers instead of inspired.

I liked DeNiro, but he was miscast. He is too much the top man and he doesn't play this type of scheming middle man very well. He's also the least Jewish actor I can think of, so Catholic it hurts (this being his image, of course, but like John Wayne playing a Jewish character it just doesn't work). Pesci feels infinitely inferior to his Oscar-winning role. He just isn't exciting to watch and I was bored with his performance. Stone, however, was absolutely wonderful. Her performance in the final half hour felt completely authentic. The moments when she's trying to get into the house to get the keys were just fantastic.

I'm being too harsh, I did like the film, but it's just not a great movie. The length and bloat make it feel unimportant and I never felt invested in the story. As much as I like it I can't find much to praise.

[Muriel Heslop]

Nacho Libre = underrated

[Aurelius]

Originally Posted by Muriel Heslop

Nacho Libre = underrated

Nacho Libre is quite possibly the worst comedy (and I use that term liberally in conjunction with this piece of dreck) I have ever seen. And most certainly in my top 5 of worst movies ever.

[Kgirl]

Originally Posted by Muriel Heslop

Nacho Libre = underrated

[Matt Mazur]

Originally Posted by Artimus

It's hard approaching Casino having seen the superior Goodfellas, but even without Scorsese's better picture Casino would be a very flawed, somewhat inconsequential film. I liked it a lot but it never feels as relevant or pressing as Goodfellas. It's too long by far and the pacing makes it all too languid, never urgent. The stakes feel very low when they should be high. It's also the least effective editing job I've seen from Schoonmaker, but I think she was given a messy film from a messy script and managed to do good work with it. The whole thing just doesn't feel like it's firing on all cylinders. It never clicks. It feels by-the-numbers instead of inspired.

I liked DeNiro, but he was miscast. He is too much the top man and he doesn't play this type of scheming middle man very well. He's also the least Jewish actor I can think of, so Catholic it hurts (this being his image, of course, but like John Wayne playing a Jewish character it just doesn't work). Pesci feels infinitely inferior to his Oscar-winning role. He just isn't exciting to watch and I was bored with his performance. Stone, however, was absolutely wonderful. Her performance in the final half hour felt completely authentic. The moments when she's trying to get into the house to get the keys were just fantastic.

I'm being too harsh, I did like the film, but it's just not a great movie. The length and bloat make it feel unimportant and I never felt invested in the story. As much as I like it I can't find much to praise.

I am not sure I completely agree about this film's overall quality, Casino is a Scorsese film that I, for some reason, find myself coming back to often.

I'm not hugely critical of De Niro's casting, but the bit of casting I would take issue with is Pesci, who is basically repeating his Goodfellas performance here. Stone is spectacular - especially, for me, in the opening scenes - she gives such a complete performance (I can't imagine Melanie Griffith, Traci Lords or even Nicole Kidman - the three other women who were up for the part - pulling this off). Her energy is electric, to match the gaudy, blinking lights. I love the art direction overall, the color, the vivacity. I do agree with you on the script, completely. That was a bit of a mess.