Random Movie Talk Twelve (no, not that horrid Schumacher movie)

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cobl04 said:
Isn't Scarface like one of the most revered films of all time? Or am I mistaken?
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The movie was shat on all over the place when it was released and with good reason. It's a steaming pile of shit. I fucking hate it just a little less than I hate that shitty, bowl cut wearing 12 year old movie reviewer twat.

shit
 
I'm curious, as I've only seen a couple of his films, is De Palma in general considered to be a good director? I like The Untouchables, but I don't recall the direction blowing my mind, but I haven't seen it in yeeeeaaaaarrrrssss.
 
bono_212 said:
I'm curious, as I've only seen a couple of his films, is De Palma in general considered to be a good director? I like The Untouchables, but I don't recall the direction blowing my mind, but I haven't seen it in yeeeeaaaaarrrrssss.
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Mid 70's to mid 80's he was well regarded as a suspense type director thanks to the likes of Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Body Double etc. Also has had success in the gangster genre with The Untouchable and Carlito's Way. I don't think he's by any means regarded as one of the great directors of our time, but he has had his moments.

(I am actually a fan of his "Phantom of the Paradise", a schlocky rocknroll take on Phantom of the Opera, used to run constantly on cable when I was a kid, my brother and I used to watch it all the time..I haven't seen it in decades and would probably find it ridiculous now, but at the time found it entertaining)
 
Jive Turkey said:
I fucking hate it just a little less than I hate that shitty, bowl cut wearing 12 year old movie reviewer twat.
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You mean this kid?


lights_camera_jackson_500-thumb-630xauto-18676.jpg


:up:
 
bono_212 said:
I'm curious, as I've only seen a couple of his films, is De Palma in general considered to be a good director? I like The Untouchables, but I don't recall the direction blowing my mind, but I haven't seen it in yeeeeaaaaarrrrssss.
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Having seen all but a handful of his very early films now, my opinion of him has taken quite a sharp rise. He's far from the most consistently great American filmmaker out there, but he's one of the masters of cinematic craft as far as I'm concerned and probably one of my very favorite American directors when he's on his game.
 
RIP Cliff Robertson

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/movies/cliff-robertson-oscar-winning-rebel-dies-at-88.html

As for this bit:
Late in life, Mr. Robertson spent several years trying in vain to get backing for a sequel to “Charly,” going so far as to shoot 15 minutes of material on his own. “You don’t have to be a 17-year-old zealot to wage guerrilla warfare,” he told The Los Angeles Times in 1998. “Some of us, by nature, are intrigued by the challenge.”
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I actually met him when he was filming a scene for this when I was a kid. After school one day, a friend and I were out playing and noticed some large trucks at the end of our street and went to investigate. My childhood street ended at a beach that overlooks Logan Airport and the Boston skyline. When we got to the bottom of the street, we saw film crews and Robertson was shooting a scene where he was sitting on the beach doing a painting of the Boston skyline. We watched them film and when they wrapped the scene, he came over and signed an autograph and said hello. (At the time I was a fan of his basically for his portrayal of Shame on Batman, though I had seen Charly at my mother's behest and enjoyed it).

Talented man, lived a long life.
 
I fell asleep on the couch yesterday afternoon (rough night before) with the TV on to The Movie Network. I woke up as Atonement was about half way through and just in time to see the most gorgeous tracking shot I think I've seen. I turned it off after that so as not to ruin the rest of the movie, but have any of you seen it? Is it worth watching? What did you think of that shot?
 
I love that movie.

We've talked about it around here a few times. I think it's stunning. The manor house that they use in the English countryside for the first act is one of the most picturesque settings I've ever seen in a movie.
 
It's very good, but not great. Think a younger version of The English Patient but with a director who has only half the talent. The screenplay isn't anywhere near as good as Minghella's, either.

Same goes for the cast.
 
I like Wright a lot and think Atonement is fantastic. I agree the screenplay adaptation isn't its strongest suit, but I find him a far more stimulating filmmaker formally than, say, a Minghella or somebody similar. The film gets a lot of shit for being overly picturesque, especially that tracking shot, but I think it's so strongly supported by the framework of the narrative that it's easy to revel in the beauty.
 
I'll check it out. I saw bits of scenes from the mansion as I was half asleep. Beautiful indeed.
As far as the tracking shot goes, I think it was the score that affected me most (well, that and the gorgeous quality of light). The way the male choir voices weaved in and out was very nicely done
 
Lancemc said:
The film gets a lot of shit for being overly picturesque
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I don't understand that. As long as the other elements are equally robust, why hate on it?
 
Well, if someone finds the bulk of the film shallow, such overtly stylized compositions or "show-offy" technique could seem pretentious. Personally I feel the film both earns and revels in its aesthetic, so it works for me.
 
Lancemc said:
I like Wright a lot and think Atonement is fantastic. I agree the screenplay adaptation isn't its strongest suit, but I find him a far more stimulating filmmaker formally than, say, a Minghella or somebody similar.
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Don't get too hung up on form.

And I think Minghella's scene transitions in and out of flashback are about as good as they get, even if he's getting assistance from Walter Murch.

There's also nothing in Wright's work that comes anywhere near the poetry of The English Patient's final shot, for one example. Or the scene in the church with the paintings and the flares.

Also, as fantastic as that tracking shot was executed, I'll take Minghella's opening battle from Cold Mountain as a comment on the effects of warfare. That scene is absolutely horrifying, a vision of hell on earth, and it's just as impressively staged a scene, even if it utilizes montage over the mise en scene found in Atonement's counterpart.
 
I love Watchmen... really the main thing keeping me a fan of his. Really dropped the ball with his last two films, despite some some interesting approaches in Sucker Punch. But yeah.
 
Forgot about Watchmen. I enjoyed that one, but then you get crap like 300 and Sucker Punch (i admit I haven't seen sucker punch)
 
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