Interference Random Movie Talk

[LMP]

The Last Crusade and Empire of the Sun have excellent endings, same with E.T. if you don't find it overly sentimental.

 

[No spoken words]

I will see anything Morricone scored. He's by far my favorite film composer, and Once Upon a Time in the West is prob in my Top 10 favorite films (it often alternates with Once Upon a Time in America).

I've done a little more research and also need to see Deep Red and Tenebre, apparently.

Too bad there's not a boxed set...

Why has everyone and their Mother seen the G-dfather or Goodfellas, but almost nobody I know, save people like Lazarus, have seen Once Upon a Time in America??? I don't know.

Also, Lazarus, I remember going to see AI in a theater in Westwood, and, during that final speech, someone in the audience got up and yelled "BULLSHIT!!!". So, I'm glad our paths have crossed.

 

[Lancemc]

Personally I hold Once Upon A Time In America in much higher regard than either The Godfather or Goodfellas.

 

[lazarus]

Why has everyone and their Mother seen the G-dfather or Goodfellas, but almost nobody I know, save people like Lazarus, have seen Once Upon a Time in America??? I don't know.

Also, Lazarus, I remember going to see AI in a theater in Westwood, and, during that final speech, someone in the audience got up and yelled "BULLSHIT!!!". So, I'm glad our paths have crossed.

I saw OUATIA when I was fairly young, freshman in high schoo maybe, and I always liked it more than The Godfather. The characters aren't as sharply drawn, but the images are unforgettable. I enjoy films that deal primarly with memory and regret, and there's always something interesting about a European giving their take on American myth, as Leone had several times before already.

As for A.I., I saw it in Santa Monica, and I am not exaggerating when I say that people were audiably groaning when the film faded back up, and got louder during Kinglsey-Robot's speech. I don't know how you can be a Spielberg fan and not be totally embarassed by this shit. Total amateur hour. Say what you want about the choppiness of Gangs of New York or its slightly expository narration (which I still feel was necessary), but nothing Marty EVER did was as hamfisted as this.

What makes it more of a tragedy was that until that point, I really felt I was watching S.S.'s finest hour, where he finally made good on his young promise, where the wide-eyed optimism of Close Encounters is revisited by someone cynical enough to be wiser. And I still think it contains his greatest and most ambitious filmmaking. Unfortunately he has a fatal flaw that I feel will forever prevent him from making a truly mature, uncompromised masterpiece. It just ain't gonna happen.

 

[Lancemc]

I'm praying Interstellar will finally deliver the quintessential Spielberg film that I've been waiting for my whole life. With Nolan on board, and the subject material, I think this might be the one.

Unfortunately we'll have to wait for him to do Lincoln first, but that might be enjoyable as well.

 

[LMP]

I'm praying Interstellar will finally deliver the quintessential Spielberg film that I've been waiting for my whole life. With Nolan on board, and the subject material, I think this might be the one.

Unfortunately we'll have to wait for him to do Lincoln first, but that might be enjoyable as well.

Apart from that weird sex/recollection scene in Munich, I consider that one of his finest post-A.I. flicks.

Lincoln and Interstellar look like they'll be good. Sally Field was cast as Mary Todd Lincoln opposite Liam Neeson, so that's promising.

I still have fairly high hopes for Indy IV, but that's just me.

 

[No spoken words]

I really like AI and Minority Report. Sad that both were derailed at the end.

I have the same high hopes for Interstellar and the Lincoln flick.

I need to go see 3:10 to Yuma already.

 

[Lancemc]

I need to go see 3:10 to Yuma already.

You do.

And Eastern Promises if you haven't already.

 

[No spoken words]

I need to see that, yeah, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

You obviously liked Eastern Promises?

 

[LMP]

Jesse James and The Darjeeling Limited are the two movies I really want to see by the end of this month/beginning of October.

 

[Lancemc]

Eastern Promises has surpassed Zodiac for my #1 spot of the year.

I have no idea when Jesse James is going to go wide, but I'm definitely seeing that the weekend it does. I'll probably see Darjeeling by the end of the month.

My current anticipation is almost entirely focused toward Lust, Caution though.

 

[lazarus]

Lance, Caution. Don't get your hopes up TOO high.

 

[LMP]

Lance, Caution.

 

[Lancemc]

Lance, Caution. Don't get your hopes up TOO high.

Don't worry about me. I know what to expect. I've read every review and article I've come across. I'm expecting another provocative and beautiful films from Ang Lee, just like he's delivered time and time again. And that's what I want. I can't wait to see it because of what it is, not because I expect the greatest film of the decade or anything like that.

 

[Screwtape2]

My current anticipation is almost entirely focused toward Lust, Caution though.

So is mine. Ang Lee is one of the underrated directors of our time. I mean truly underrated.

 

[Lancemc]

So is mine. Ang Lee is one of the underrated directors of our time. I mean truly underrated.

Brokeback Mountain not winning Best Picture in 2005 was a travesty. Especially considering it lost to Crash.

 

[LMP]

Brokeback Mountain not winning Best Picture in 2005 was a travesty. Especially considering it lost to Crash.

What, you don't like Paul Haggis smashing the super-important theme of the movie over your head repeatedly for 2 and a half hours?

 

[Lancemc]

If Paul Haggis had not written Casino Royale he would have no good reason to exist.

 

[LMP]

With 2 other guys, but still.

laz's review of Elah sounded promising though.

 

[lazarus]

I'm very excited for Lust, Caution as well. Crouching Tiger was my #1 for 2000, in my Top 5 of the 00's, and I even thought The Hulk was great.

Plus, Tony Leung rules.

Also, the great thing about Casino Royale wasn't the screenplay. It wasn't the direction. It was the choice to restart the franchise. Everyone did a good job, but it was the executive decision that's worthy of applause.

 

[Lancemc]

Casino Royale's script wasn't great, but it wasn't too bad either. Infinitely better than Crash's at least.

 

[No spoken words]

I loved Casino Royale, and was thrilled that they had the guts to let the card game last that long, in an era when people's attention spans have been whittled to nothing. I also like how they had Bond as a rough around the edges sort....the unfinished product. His staring at himself in the mirror while wearing the tuxedo was an important scene to me....his getting a glimpse of a different him.

I do not think Ang Lee is underrated at all. I think he's pretty well appreciated and lauded, despite Brokeback getting snubbed. I love watching his films, and look forward to Lust, Caution.

I own Crouching Tiger and never get tired of watching it. It's just so fucking beautiful and poetic.

 

[LMP]

I loved Casino Royale, and was thrilled that they had the guts to let the card game last that long, in an era when people's attention spans have been whittled to nothing. I also like how they had Bond as a rough around the edges sort....the unfinished product. His staring at himself in the mirror while wearing the tuxedo was an important scene to me....his getting a glimpse of a different him.

I loved that scene as well. The choice of putting the theme music at the end of the film was a great touch, too.

I've been hearing Bond 22 starts like 2 minutes after the end of Casino. I cannot wait.

 

[No spoken words]

I agree, the music at the end put a big dorky smile on my face.

No shit...it starts right after. Sweet.

I keep thinking about Dark Knight and how I hope to hell Lazarus gets his wish, and Batman falls at the end of the film. Would make the 3rd all the better.

Man, how can people not like movies???? Such a simple but powerful pleasure.

I also do not understand people that refuse to watch a film more than once. But those people likely do not understand me, I suppose.

Not sure where those 2 paragraphs came from, sorry.

 

[Lila64]

Casino Royale Saw it at the theater AND rented it when it came out & watched again. And would watch it again when it comes on one of my pay channels. And who doesn't like watching a little Texas Hold 'Em Oh, and Cornell did the theme song

Brokeback Mountain was a very good film - Lee did win the Oscar for directing, but the movie itself did not win best picture. That went to Crash, which til this day I haven't seen. It's one of those movies that if I'm flipping channels and it's on/coming on, I may watch. Otherwise

http://www.oscars.org/78academyawards/nomswins.html

 

[monkeyskin]

Vertigo's somewhere in the queue, same with Dial M for Murder, Notorious, To Catch a Thief, and The Man Who Knew Too Much. I'll add those movies you listed, too.

If you like those then check out his older output too, like Rebecca, Shadow of a Doubt, The Lady Vanishes and The 39 Steps.

Lazarus, I haven't seen much of his 60s work save for Pyscho and The Birds so I'll have to check out those that you mentioned too. The reviews I've seen of everything post-Marnie seem pretty critical which pushed me to the older stuff.

 

[lazarus]

Hitchcock was definitely trying some new things, yet was seen as not keeping up with the times. He preferred to shoot on controllable soundstages as opposed to location shooting, which was becoming the norm for action/suspense films. So something like Marnie came off as very stagey, but considering the psychological drama going on, the artificiality actually adds to the atmosphere of the film.

It wasn't until Frenzy that Hitch embraced a more "modern" type of filmmaking, with a lot of location shooting going on in London, as well as implementing nudity and the most graphic violence of any of his films. Some people felt it was a return to form, others hated it.

The last film, Family Plot, has also been unfairly maligned, but some feel it's one of his best late-period works. It's more tongue-in-cheek than anything he had done since The Trouble With Harry, and it definitely shows the man wasn't up for trying new things.

Ultimately, they're all worth watching. With the exception of maybe a couple early silents (I haven't seen all of them), the man didn't make a bad film. I just tracked down another critical and commercial failure, Under Capricorn, which stars Ingrid Bergman and Joseph Cotten. It takes place in 19th Century Australia, and while it doesn't have all the Hitchcock suspense hallmarks, it's masterfully crafted and one of his most hypnotizing films.

 

[monkeyskin]

I've got Under Capricorn in my rental list, any film that has Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten and Alfred Hitchcock has to be worth a look.

Frenzy, Topaz and Torn Curtain also seem to be doing the rounds on Sky TV at the moment so I'll have to make the effort to catch them. I probably would have already but there's always something else on...

As for trying new things, I saw The Wrong Man a while back and was very impressed, the way Hitch built up a mounting feeling of helplessness and panic was hard to watch comfortably but it's one of his best IMO.

But I wholeheartedly agree that he never made a bad film. Even below-par Hitch is better than many, many other films.

 

[U2girl]

Also, the great thing about Casino Royale wasn't the screenplay. It wasn't the direction. It was the choice to restart the franchise. Everyone did a good job, but it was the executive decision that's worthy of applause.

True. But the restart would not be as good were it not for the brilliant casting of Daniel Craig.
I don't think I ever enjoyed re-watching a Bond movie as much.

to the Madagascar foot chase, to the poker scenes, the Vesper-Bond scenes on the plane, the twist and of course, the final line.

Lemonmacphisto: According to Wikipedia, yes, Bond 22 starts minutes after the end of Casino Royale. Not only that, but apparently Casino Royale, Bond 22 and Bond 23 will be the first ever Bond trilogy.

I've read comments that the Bourne movies inspired the change in Bond. Anyone agree ? It's not like Craig is the first tough Bond - what about Timothy Dalton ?

 

[lazarus]

I don't think it was just the character of Bourne or Damon's portrayal that influenced the Bond producers, but the freshness of the style. Bond had become a little cliche and outdated, and I think they felt they needed to toughen things up a bit not only from a casting perspective, but down to the whole look. Not to mention the effort to ground the action in more of a real world atmosphere. You never would have seen that object-jumping chase scene in any of the other films, or the deglamming of an exotic location.