Review the last movie you viewed (NO LISTS) IV

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There Will Be Blood

I found the film a mixed bag. It's certainly an achievement in craft and artistry; some of the shots and sequences were simply breathtaking. Mr Radiohead's score was quite striking, though shrill and grating at certain moments. I'm sure that Daniel Day-Lewis will get his Oscar in a few days, but personally I found that his performance only really clicked with me about 1.5 hours into the film. Until then, a lot of his acting felt too calculated and measured, much like Bill the Butcher in "Gangs of New York" - nothing takes me out of the movie as much as when I'm made acutely aware that I'm watching someone reach into their professional bag of facial ticks, mannerisms and accents. But when he did click and I forgot that I was watching Acting, he was absolutely riveting to watch. Unlike many people I didn't mind the overblown final scene; that kind of theatrical over-the-topness was IMO present throughout the film. I did feel though that none of the strands of the film - Plainview's relationship with his son, his feud with the preacher etc. - came through as strongly as they could have. Strong individual scenes, yes, but curiously muted on the whole.
 
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corianderstem said:
(A twofer Friday in the corianderstem household!)

La Vie En Rose

8/10

Well. I haven't seen Away From Her, but if Marion Cotillard doesn't win Best Actress Sunday night, I'm going to be very disappointed.

This should also win best makeup, I think. That was quite the transformation they did on her to be Edith Piaf in "old" age (old as in what - 44 when she died, was it? She looked 80.).

Parts of the movie had me feeling like I wasn't all that sympathetic towards Edith. A sad life to be sure, but sometimes my reaction was "yeah, who hasn't had a hard life? get over it." But the more the movie went on, the more I felt sorrow for her.

Maybe I can chalk it up to the performance. I didn't have any knowledge of Edit Piaf going in, other than she was a French cabaret singer and that she sang "La Vie En Rose."

Anyway. It's late, and I'm rambling. Off to bed!

I saw Marion Cotillard on Oprah not that long ago, and had seen a clip from the movie. She looked like she became Edith. I didn't see any of the best actress performances, but I have a feeling she may win the Oscar. I heard some predictions today on the radio, and the guy picked Cotillard to win, said it would be an upset over Julie Christie. He said all the foreigners were gonna win...

And finally saw Michael Clayton this evening :up: :up:
 
lazarus said:
Plus they'll have a bunch of current shit that I'm unable to see in this armpit of the country.

I always thought of it as the penis of the country, but that's just me.
 
Saw Charlie Bartlett today. Didn't have the high points of Juno, but also without the embarrassing low ones. Anton Yelchin, who I remembered fondly from Hearts in Atlantis, is pretty charismatic and sympathetic. Kat Dennings, who was the older daughter in The 40 Year-Old Virgin, has grown into quite the little hottie (don't worry, she's 21). Robert Downey Jr., great as always, and Hope Davis is a welcome presence, but she's really not given enough material.

It's a bit of a cross between Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Rushmore, and an indie film from earlier in the decade called Igby Goes Down, which shares the darker tone of this film. I don't know that it says anything particularly original (and certainly doesn't function as art in the way Wes Anderson's film does), but it was likeable.
 
On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Damn. What an excellent surprise this was. I might be in the minority, but I really enjoyed Lazenby's take on Bond...much moreso than Connery's. The plot was a bit bizarre on a whole, but it was well-written, well-acted, and the film was beautifully done on pretty much all fronts. This is a winner. All the character arcs were well realized, the pacing was great (though the final cut might have used a bit of trimming here and there) and action was fantastic, and it had a stronger emotional center than any of the other Bond films I've seen to date with the possible exception of Casino Royale. In fact this film felt a lot like Casino Royale to me for some reason, it its structure, tone, and general position among the rest of the series.

I can't quite say it's my favorite Bond film yet, because From Russia With Love was pretty much perfect, but it's at the very least a secure #2 in the ones we've watched so far this year.
 
Lancemc said:
On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Damn. What an excellent surprise this was. I might be in the minority, but I really enjoyed Lazenby's take on Bond...much moreso than Connery's. The plot was a bit bizarre on a whole, but it was well-written, well-acted, and the film was beautifully done on pretty much all fronts. This is a winner. All the character arcs were well realized, the pacing was great (though the final cut might have used a bit of trimming here and there) and action was fantastic, and it had a stronger emotional center than any of the other Bond films I've seen to date with the possible exception of Casino Royale. In fact this film felt a lot like Casino Royale to me for some reason, it its structure, tone, and general position among the rest of the series.

I can't quite say it's my favorite Bond film yet, because From Russia With Love was pretty much perfect, but it's at the very least a secure #2 in the ones we've watched so far this year.

Hard to argue with the above, except I liked the film more than I liked Lazenby. However, like you, I found it to be surprisingly good. Diana Rigg helped out in that regard, for me at least, lending a little class to the proceedings. And what a great end, as Lazarus had mentioned long before either of us watched.

For the record, I'm up to The World is not Enough. So, just have to slog through that and the fucking putrid Die Another Day, then I wind up at the awesomeness that is Casino Royale, and then I'm done.....and onto the WKW-a-thon....though, I have 3 Netflix films I need to knock off in-between a-thons.

Lance, glad you enjoyed the film.
 
Tomorrow Never Dies can blow me. Ugh.

I'm waiting for Laz to re-quote this to his liking.
 
No spoken words said:

and then I'm done.....and onto the WKW-a-thon....though, I have 3 Netflix films I need to knock off in-between a-thons.


I'm appalled that the Hitchcock-a-thon isn't higher on your list.

I mean, Die Another Day ranks above Shadow of a Doubt, Rear Window, Notorious, Vertigo, et al?

For shame NSW, for shame.
 
monkeyskin said:


I'm appalled that the Hitchcock-a-thon isn't higher on your list.

I mean, Die Another Day ranks above Shadow of a Doubt, Rear Window, Notorious, Vertigo, et al?

For shame NSW, for shame.

Oh, well, let's not confuse the chronology of how I go about my business with the importance I attach to it. :) Clearly, the Hitchcock-a-thon (not to be confused with Lance's Mom's annual cock-a-thon) is of more interest to me than the Bond-a-thon, but, this is the order I'm going with. Why? Cos I make no sense.
 
corianderstem said:


Take out the "ly" and you've got a review of the movie.

But there are boobs in it... boobs and Bill Murray apparently. Not his of course, but still.
 
No spoken words said:


Oh, well, let's not confuse the chronology of how I go about my business with the importance I attach to it. :) Clearly, the Hitchcock-a-thon (not to be confused with Lance's Mom's annual cock-a-thon) is of more interest to me than the Bond-a-thon, but, this is the order I'm going with. Why? Cos I make no sense.

Fair enough. Except for the use of the word 'annual'. Either replace it with 'daily' or 'anally', they both work.
 
monkeyskin said:


Fair enough. Except for the use of the word 'annual'. Either replace it with 'daily' or 'anally', they both work.

Good lord, you're right about that. As we say here in the states, "my bad". I love our colloquialisms!
 
Persepolis (dir. Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud)

Essential viewing. At turns funny, moving, and horrifying, a very candid look behind the curtain of the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and how a young girl faces growing up inside and outside of the repressive environment. I own the graphic novel and read about half of it before watching this. They did a perfect job in making it come alive, capturing the best moments of the source material, while creating many new iconic images.

Don't miss it.
 
Diamonds Are Forever - 6.5

This was a fun movie. Not quite a great one though. The opening sequence was awful, but the first half of the film proper was extremely promising. Great pacing, fair script, good Bond girl, the whole diamond smuggling thread was great. Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint are fantastically entertaining henchmen too, which makes the film more enjoyable than it might have been. Once we get familiar again with Blofeld and his scheme though, things start to get needlessly goofy, predictable, and absurd. The entire time the movie remains fun though, and that's what separates it from something like You Only Live Twice, or even Thunderball.

So ultimately, :up: but nothing too special here. REALLY looking forward to digging into the Moore films again now though.
 
Ehh, I think that one's pretty crappy. Connery did not return with the same spark he had before. The gay henchmen were too over the top. Jill St. John was decent, but not enough to save the film.

Glad you liked On Her Majesty's... though.
 
No spoken words said:
I'm at Casino Royale.


Don't forget to bet on black.


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