|
Hbomberguy posted:Mark Kermode's radio reviews are entertaining to listen to and I find myself agreeing with him quite often. "If you saw Little Man, shame on you" is the one of the funniest spoken sets of words ever. Seconding this. Although warning it's a Radio 5 show so it can be annoyingly twee and Kermode would be the first to agree that he can be a utter bellend at times. Saying that even if most of the time I tend to have the opposite opinion with his review he's articulate enough that it gives me a rough idea if I'll like the film or not. Also hearing him get shot down by Simon Mayo makes it a fun enough podcast to listen to anyway, Also they have pretty good interviews and he likes to cover small releases with as much airtime as the big releases.
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2014 12:50
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 24, 2024 13:47 |
|
|
Krypt-OOO-Nite!! posted:Seconding this. I have mixed feelings on Kermode. When he gives a good review he can be great, but I also think he's surprisingly biased in his views and often can't see the forest for the trees. Given how much he's written about horror I would've expected him to at least acknowledge some of the subtext to Hostel and particularly the gender politics in Hostel 2 (Which is barely even subtext). But it was frustrating to hear him just trounce the movies as torture porn. Likewise anything with Michael Bay. I thought Pain and Gain was subversive and clearly satirical, and Kermode almost hits upon that point, but he's decided that because it's from Michael Bay then it simply can't be. I don't think Pain and Gain is entirely successful at what it's doing, but I acknowledge that it was trying something. Kermode instead just takes it at face value. Check out his recent Wolf of Wall Street review for example. For all that though I find the fawning people they have writing into the show is way worse.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2014 13:15
|
|
|
DrVenkman posted:For all that though I find the fawning people they have writing into the show is way worse. It's improved over 5 or so years ago when it felt like much more of the show was listener-mail and shoutouts to Jason Isaacs and fifty other lovies. Occasionally it feels like they're conveniently on holiday whenever something huge comes out that needs to be torn apart the week after their fawning interview, however that's probably due to normal release schedules / school holidays etc. That said Edith Bowman was amazing filling in a few weeks back and should be a regular.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2014 15:00
|
|
|
Kermode and Mayo are super entertaining people to see argue, even when Kermode gets it 100% wrong (not even 'I disagree' wrong, 'doesn't understand how films actually work' wrong) about the film or whatever it's fun listening to two people who know each other very well arguing about one's use of 'totes amaze' and 50s hairstyles. Anyway, new question: Has any other recent movie mastered using really, really slowed-down music in the soundtrack other than the slomo scenes in Dredd? Because I absolutely love that music style and the 'things slowed down X00%' subgenre that's emerging, and want to see it in more movies. Edit: Except Inception. I already saw that. 
Hbomberguy fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Feb 9, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2014 02:33
|
|
|
Hbomberguy posted:Anyway, new question: Has any other recent movie mastered using really, really slowed-down music in the soundtrack other than the slomo scenes in Dredd? Because I absolutely love that music style and the 'things slowed down X00%' subgenre that's emerging, and want to see it in more movies.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2014 03:51
|
|
|
DrVenkman posted:I have mixed feelings on Kermode. When he gives a good review he can be great, but I also think he's surprisingly biased in his views and often can't see the forest for the trees. Given how much he's written about horror I would've expected him to at least acknowledge some of the subtext to Hostel and particularly the gender politics in Hostel 2 (Which is barely even subtext). But it was frustrating to hear him just trounce the movies as torture porn. Likewise anything with Michael Bay. I thought Pain and Gain was subversive and clearly satirical, and Kermode almost hits upon that point, but he's decided that because it's from Michael Bay then it simply can't be. I don't think Pain and Gain is entirely successful at what it's doing, but I acknowledge that it was trying something. Kermode instead just takes it at face value. Check out his recent Wolf of Wall Street review for example. This a hundred times as well. For a guy that goes on about the Exorcist being the best movie ever made he's annoyingly quick to jump on a movie for being distasteful or making your feel uncomfortable without looking a bit deeper. I took his Pain & Gain review at face value cause of "lol Michael Bay" and was amazed to find its a good movie when I got round to watching it the other week. Also I'm still mad at him for dismissing a Serbian Film out of hand as disgusting filth when it's possibly the greatest takedown of modern media viewing and the only horror in years to make me feel honestly unsettled. Especially as he fawned over Kill List which is a very similar movie apart from the emphasis being on violence rather than sex. [/rant over]
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2014 11:07
|
|
|
I'd like to know if there are any prison-break style grindhouse movies, that feature women breaking out of women's prison. Maybe one or two that stand out.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2014 13:39
|
|
|
midnightclimax posted:I'd like to know if there are any prison-break style grindhouse movies, that feature women breaking out of women's prison. Maybe one or two that stand out. Have you heard of Pam Grier? Edit: I'm both disappointed and surprised I couldn't find 2 more Women in Prison films with Pam Grier to make every word in the post a link. Air Skwirl fucked around with this message at 14:03 on Feb 9, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2014 13:57
|
|
|
Skwirl posted:Have you heard of Pam Grier? That's what I was looking for, thanks a lot. I dimly remember seeing a trailer for 'The Big Doll House', but forgot its name. e: maybe you also know ones which feature a woman getting abused, and then she goes on a murder rampage killing everyone involved? e2: internet tells me to go watch I Spit on Your Grave midnightclimax fucked around with this message at 14:08 on Feb 9, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2014 14:01
|
|
|
midnightclimax posted:e: maybe you also know ones which feature a woman getting abused, and then she goes on a murder rampage killing everyone involved? Ms. 45.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2014 14:13
|
|
|
ynohtna posted:Ms. 45. Seconding this. Edit: Also the answer is usually more Pam Grier Air Skwirl fucked around with this message at 14:18 on Feb 9, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2014 14:15
|
|
|
Aha, Abel Ferrara, and I've never seen it. Interesting. Coffy seems pretty cool, too.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2014 14:24
|
|
|
midnightclimax posted:Aha, Abel Ferrara, and I've never seen it. Interesting. Coffy seems pretty cool, too. Fun Pam Grier Fact: There are 2 different movies where she pulls a gun out of her afro.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2014 14:34
|
|
|
midnightclimax posted:
Thriller: A Cruel Picture (aka They Call Her One-Eye).
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 07:03
|
|
|
midnightclimax posted:That's what I was looking for, thanks a lot. I dimly remember seeing a trailer for 'The Big Doll House', but forgot its name. I'm not going to say "don't watch I Spit on Your Grave", but don't watch it if your intent is to actually enjoy or be stimulated by a movie itself rather than just its existence and place in exploitation film history.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 15:22
|
|
|
Mechafunkzilla posted:I'm not going to say "don't watch I Spit on Your Grave", but don't watch it if your intent is to actually enjoy or be stimulated by a movie itself rather than just its existence and place in exploitation film history. It really is a loving awful movie. Ms .45 is cool, though.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 15:28
|
|
|
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 16:10
|
|
|
Criminal Minded posted:It really is a loving awful movie. Just want to lend a bit more support to this opinion. It's such a boring, stupid movie.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 19:41
|
|
|
Mechafunkzilla posted:I'm not going to say "don't watch I Spit on Your Grave", but don't watch it if your intent is to actually enjoy or be stimulated by a movie itself rather than just its existence and place in exploitation film history. The Joe Bob Briggs commentary for it is really funny because he's just baffled by it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 19:47
|
|
|
Well I watched 'Women in Cages' and 'Ms. 45' yesterday. 'Ms. 45' is really cool, finally I know where that picture of the nun with the gun is from. Probably going for the Russ Meyer one next, the swedish one is a bit hard to find (although Wikipedia makes it sound interesting).
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 19:50
|
|
|
It might also be worth tracking down Machete Maidens Unleashed, a documentary about the Filipino movie boom of the 70s and 80s. They interview a lot of the people who worked on those movies and it makes you appreciate how bonkers everything was.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 19:55
|
|
|
Crossposting from Stupid/Small Questions" When Star Wars came out, was it actually celebrated for it's good writing? Or did it just look really cool? I'm arguing with friends, and he said the following movies were popular for their superb writing: Terminator 2 Aliens the Star Trek series Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Casablanca, Ghostbusters, Clerks, the Austin Powers films, The Princess Bride, Toy Story, and Pulp Fiction. Am I wrong that these have always been kind of dumb and poorly written? Could someone who was alive / an adult when these came out give me a good idea of what the general public believed about these movies / series?\
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 20:04
|
|
|
Turtlicious posted:When Star Wars came out, was it actually celebrated for it's good writing? It was nominated for an Academy Award for its screenplay, so whether or not you particularly cared for the writing or trust the Academy, it's not a stretch to say it was celebrated for it. Toy Story was also nominated. Casablanca and Pulp Fiction won the Oscar for their screenplays. I'd also personally describe most of the movies on that list as well-written, though not necessarily all the Star Treks, Austin Powerses, or Avatar.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 20:21
|
|
|
.
whoablackbetty fucked around with this message at 20:52 on Feb 12, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 20:48
|
|
|
Turtlicious posted:Am I wrong that these have always been kind of dumb and poorly written? Could someone who was alive / an adult when these came out give me a good idea of what the general public believed about these movies / series? Thousands upon thousands of words have been written already about these films. Mind sharing with us a few details as to why you believe, say, Aliens, Casablanca, Ghostbusters, or The Princess Bride are dumb and poorly written? And are you talking about their dialogue, plot, narrative construction, base concepts, or...? ynohtna fucked around with this message at 21:05 on Feb 12, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 21:02
|
|
|
ynohtna posted:Thousands upon thousands of words have been written already about these films. Also Toy Story.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 21:06
|
|
|
Ok, but I'm going to preface this with "It's my opinion," and I really don't feel like arguing subjective things. My thoughts on: Aliens - While it did have a strong female character, it made me feel really weird at how they seemed to keep pushing this theme of "She's strong because she has mother-ly feelings for this little girl. Look at the strong woman be a mom." It's like, no she's strong because she's strong, and the child aspect just seemed to bring the whole movie down. Casablanca - Rick is this big ladies man who makes everything awesome I guess but also a drunk. Then he is totally epic on the runway and ~fart noises~ Just kind of broke my suspension of disbelief half way through the movie. Ghostbusters - I laughed I guess, but being funny doesn't make a movie amazing, powerful, or moving. It can but I just kind of don't see it. Clerks - White people. Just... The epitome of white people. I liked Dogma though Austin Powers - Way too crass for my taste Pulp Fiction - Let's have totally normal talks at gunpoint, and be really over the top. Also let's have a dude get raped, because that's edgy right? I'm relevant! Look I'm pushing ~*~boundaries~*~ It just came off as though Tarantino wanted to make a gritty movie, so he had a bunch of cool scenes and loosely tied them together. Toy Story - I hate Toy Story, just... All of it. Woody is a manipulative prick, Buzz is a retard, all of the toys are retarded, and it's just dumb. Dumb in premise, dumb all the way down. Dumb dumb dumb.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 21:22
|
|
|
Turtlicious posted:Ok, but I'm going to preface this with "It's my opinion," and I really don't feel like arguing subjective things. So, like, when you watch a movie, do you ever think about what it's about? Or are they just like series of moving pictures and sounds that go on for a while and then they end? Like, in Casablanca, do you think about the fact that Rick is sitting around being awesome taking money from people who have lost everything due to the war and generally just being a lovely person only looking out for himself until he realizes that there are important things in the world that a person can't ignore (also the movie came out while WW2 was still going on and America hadn't entered the war)? In Aliens, do you think about the fact that you're looking at a woman who is strong and caring and takes things seriously, and she's teamed up with all this cool marine dudes who are totally all about being macho badasses, and then at the end this strong and caring mother figure is fighting a big alien mother figure and all the tough macho badass guys are dead because they're all about being tough macho badasses and not taking things seriously? In Ghostbusters, do you think about the fact that the beginning of the movie is three college professors getting fired and the end of the movie is them shooting nuclear lasers at a Sumerian God Lady while a giant marshmallow man is climbing up a building while on fire and somehow the movie manages to make this transition so smooth that you don't even think about how crazy the movie's ending is if you looked at it out of context? Because there are reasons that stuff happens in these movies. They don't just throw scenes together by tossing darts at post-it notes on a wall. Movies are trying to say things, and sometimes they're good at it, and sometimes they're bad at it, but more importantly, if you're watching a movie and not thinking "What is this movie trying to say", then you're bad at it. Crappy Jack fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Feb 12, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 21:27
|
|
|
Crappy Jack posted:So, like, when you watch a movie, do you ever think about what it's about? Or are they just like series of moving pictures and sounds that go on for a while and then they end? Think about it how?
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 21:35
|
|
|
There's no accounting for taste, and it's fine if you don't like it, but Casablanca is number 1 on the Writer's Guild of America's Greatest Screenplays of All Time list. Star Wars is number 68 and Pulp Fiction is 16 . So it's safe to say these were all films critically lauded for their writing. Out of curiousity, what films do you consider extremely well written?
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 21:35
|
|
|
Crappy Jack posted:In Aliens, do you think about the fact that you're looking at a woman who is strong and caring and takes things seriously, and she's teamed up with all this cool marine dudes who are totally all about being macho badasses, and then at the end this strong and caring mother figure is fighting a big alien mother figure and all the tough macho badass guys are dead because they're all about being tough macho badasses and not taking things seriously? One great scene from the directors cut is when you find out that she had a kid who died during the time she was frozen. It makes her bond with Newt stronger, and the bond is created since they both survived an Alien assualt.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 21:37
|
|
|
Skwirl posted:There's no accounting for taste, and it's fine if you don't like it, but Casablanca is number 1 on the Writer's Guild of America's Greatest Screenplays of All Time list. Star Wars is number 68 and Pulp Fiction is 16 . So it's safe to say these were all films critically lauded for their writing. I want to say "The Stewie Griffin Story," because that seems like a bad movie everyone hates. My personal favorites would be... LA Confidential The Goodfellas The Godfather The Producers / Anything by Mel Brooks, god I love Mel Brooks Chinatown E: Crappy Jack posted:Like, in Casablanca, do you think about the fact that Rick is sitting around being awesome taking money from people who have lost everything due to the war and generally just being a lovely person only looking out for himself until he realizes that there are important things in the world that a person can't ignore (also the movie came out while WW2 was still going on and America hadn't entered the war)? No not really, that makes those movies seem a lot better. I guess I don't think critically enough about movies. Which is odd I guess, and I tend to lose out on the subtle nuances. Are these things you noticed when you were watching it? Or after discussing it later with people? Turtlicious fucked around with this message at 21:43 on Feb 12, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 21:41
|
|
|
Turtlicious posted:Aliens - While it did have a strong female character, it made me feel really weird at how they seemed to keep pushing this theme of "She's strong because she has mother-ly feelings for this little girl. Look at the strong woman be a mom." It's like, no she's strong because she's strong, and the child aspect just seemed to bring the whole movie down. Ripley's not really a strong woman though. She's a strong person. The film takes great pains to shoot her from similar angles and wielding similar weapons to Arnie in several of his respective movies - you can even compare shots between his characters and Ripley. The point is she is assuming a 'masculine' role because hey, turns out masculinity is a concept and not an actual state of being reserved only for one gender. The barrier between masculine and feminine breaks down in a really cool way. Ripley is my favourite strong woman, because there's nothing womanly about it. Masculine traits don't belong inherently to men, and vice versa - Real men do cry, to quote your avatar. A lot of 'strong woman' characters get bogged down uniting 'strong' and 'woman' as if there's a dichotomy there, when there isn't. Ripley's relationship with Newt is what makes her the strongest fighter - the other marines have no ultimate purpose. They are the same as the drones, killers who kill because they do, rounded up and sent off to fight and die by whoever does the actual thinking. Ripley's desire to save Newt gives her a reason to actually survive. Contrast with the scene where one of the super badass marines puts a shotgun in an Alien's mouth and says 'eat this!' blowing the creature's head off and burning his own arm to poo poo. Action movie One-liners aren't a good enough justification for violence - saving an innocent human child from the chaos of battle is an actual goal. Side note: Your name is turtlicious and you said 'dumb all the way down'. good one, I chuckled. Oh, and in answer to your question, I only realise what a movie is about when I read a post in CineD that saw it differently, and then I actually bother to think about it for the first time as I write a long boring post like the one you just read. You're helping me figure out what I think about Pulp Fiction right now! Edit:VVVVVV Same here. Legitimately, CineD has taught me more about films than University. Hbomberguy fucked around with this message at 22:12 on Feb 12, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 22:07
|
|
|
I gotta say I'm really like reading these posts though, I've never really looked at movies this way so it's kind of an awesome eye-opening experience
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 22:10
|
|
|
Hbomberguy posted:Ripley's not really a strong woman though. She's a strong person. The film takes great pains to shoot her from similar angles and wielding similar weapons to Arnie in several of his respective movies - you can even compare shots between his characters and Ripley. The point is she is assuming a 'masculine' role because hey, turns out masculinity is a concept and not an actual state of being reserved only for one gender. The barrier between masculine and feminine breaks down in a really cool way. Ripley is my favourite strong woman, because there's nothing womanly about it. Masculine traits don't belong inherently to men, and vice versa - Real men do cry, to quote your avatar. A lot of 'strong woman' characters get bogged down uniting 'strong' and 'woman' as if there's a dichotomy there, when there isn't. They bring this up in the scene with the loader. When she asks to help and they are all she can't help us. However, she gets in the loader and shows that she is just as good as anyone else.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 22:11
|
|
|
Turtlicious posted:Casablanca - Rick is this big ladies man who makes everything awesome I guess but also a drunk. Then he is totally epic on the runway and ~fart noises~ Just kind of broke my suspension of disbelief half way through the movie. Oh my god.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 22:18
|
|
|
bobkatt013 posted:They bring this up in the scene with the loader. When she asks to help and they are all she can't help us. However, she gets in the loader and shows that she is just as good as anyone else. And then later she takes that loader and uses it to straight up throw a motherfucking Alien into space. The very thing that proves her to be just as capable as a squad of badass Marines is the thing that allows her to stand up against a gigantic, monstrous version of femininity - a personality-devoid baby making machine. Ripley succeeds because she's both a badass person and a caring mother; the marines lose because they're just badasses, and the queen loses because she's just a mother. She bridges the gap between masculine and feminine. EDIT: Also Hicks is the only Marine to survive the movie, because he's the only character who is willing to put his manhood aside and say "Hey, this Ripley knows what she's talking about, maybe we ought to listen to her". Crappy Jack fucked around with this message at 22:23 on Feb 12, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 22:19
|
|
|
penismightier posted:Oh my god. I hope that quote shows up one day on a special editions collector's box of Casablanca.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 22:22
|
|
|
Turtlicious posted:I gotta say I'm really like reading these posts though, I've never really looked at movies this way so it's kind of an awesome eye-opening experience Cool.  As well as the active critical thinking aspect - which is an on-going form of exercise that's very gratifying - it sounds like you're possibly missing a lot of the cultural context and genre background that the movies you mentioned build upon. That's okay, it just means you have a lot of fantastic films to watch ahead of you! For an obviously strong example, Pulp Fiction is a glorious deconstruction of noir and (duh) pulp fiction stereotypes, and Hbomberguy has already pointed out how Aliens works upon and evolves the trends of typical 80s action movies. Given that you already enjoy the neo-noirs LA Confidential and Chinatown then you'll likely enjoy digging further back towards the roots of noir, picking up lots of ideas, references and cinematic treats along the way. Maybe you'll eventually gain an appreciation for Casablanca. Maybe not, but it is highly regarded for good cause. vvvv drat right.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 22:27
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 24, 2024 13:47 |
|
|
ynohtna posted:Cool. Third Man is a good one to watch, but I will always suggest Third Man.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2014 22:29
|
|