Movie Board Volume 2.1

[Thorngrub]

Thanks for the spoiler warning Mary -- I highly anticipate the day I finally get to see Oldboy. My friend Kyu who did a write up on it I posted awhile back got me really psyched for it. Needless to say, I stopped reading your post right at the spoiler warning -- and will check it out after seeing it (which I hope is soon). Kyu called it the "Mother of all VEngeance movies". That title I believe goes to KILL BILL; it will be interesting to see if Oldboy swipes the prize for itself.

[Adam]

Good post, Mary. I haven't seen Oldboy since most foreign films aren't distributed heavily in the U.S. during their theatrical run. And I read the spoilers since the film has already been spoiled for me by another review (curious, I suppose; I tend to think its one way to read about it and another to see it happen).

But I liked your argument because it usually dictates decisions about certain films I would choose to see. To me, it's all about the context of which violence, sex or profanity is used in a certain film.
Ever seen Takeshi Miike's Audition? The film has a great, tension-filled buildup that lasts for 3/4 of its running time but then the last 20 minutes consist of a torture scene that is so unbearable to watch. In the context of the film, I think a torture scene should exist, but I kept thinking, did it have to be that one?

And I don't know if I can bring myself to watch anymore of Miike's other films (he's known for outrageous scenes of violence, sex and God knows what else) or zombie films of Lucio Fulci. I like a bit of the ole' ultraviolence myself, but I'm not addicted to carnage candy.

But oddly, I can't make the case for, say, Kill Bill, the first two Evil Dead films or, more recently, Sin City, because 1) the violence is carried to such an extreme that it stops being grotesque and become surrealistic (even hilarious) and 2) it follows in the context of the films.

So sadly, a lot of these films result in a love-it-or-hate-it verdict. Then again, that others, like Tarantino, have an appetite for stuff like this doesn't make me feel that I'm missing anything.

[pattentank24]

The Interpeter- was slow and not really that suspenseful,good acting,some nice shots but just a run of the mill Political Thriller without really any intrigue
The sad fact is when it's GOOD it's really got you on the edge of your seat but most of the time it builds with no real payoff,The begining and ending are proof this could have been a much better flim (6)


Closer- You can tell this was a thought -provoking play before a movie,I found it to be a great character study on jealousy,and just how honest people can be in their personal relationships
For the 1st time I can Remember I wasn't bothered by Julia Roberts(aka "Horseface") she's s understated in this flim.
Clive Owen is on my list of best actors working today
and Natlie Portman continues to become one of the best female actresses in flim
These charcters aren't particualy likeable and you don't root for them
I found myself watching with a almost clinical detachement
nonetheless it will be a flim you'll consider in your own relationships
One of the 10 Best of 2004 in my opinon (9)


DIG!- Everytime I hear someone say "I want to be in a rock band with no rules"
I will ask them from now on "Have You Seen Dig! yet?"
The documentary follows the medocre rise of the Dandy Warhols and the implosion of the Brian Johnstown Massacure.
If you saw the flim in theaters SO WHAT!
You need to hear the band commentaries for the full effect and stories of what the flimakers don't show
Espically "The Where Are They Now" portion on the bonus disc
The lies,backstabing,pre-manufactured hype,drug addiction is all on display here for any aspiring musician to see.
The only complaint I have is for a doc. based on music there hardly is any focus on the music either one of these bands made.
If your looking for some cheap-drunken laughs and great detail of the horrors of the music industry
I don't think I can Reconmend this enough (9)

I got Primer the other day,looking foward to watching the future of Indie Cinema

[RocDoc]

Finished watching the Bourne Supremacy a couple of nights ago...and really enjoyed it, again with a Ronin-style European car chase sequences(Berlin AND Mockba, if you ain't seen it) and the accompanying shoot-em-ups...Matt Damon was made for this role.

~

Saw 'Dodgeball' sometime last weekend, laughed pretty hard in a couple of places...but for the most part a pretty dumb movie that at least DID try pretty hard to do something with a generally weak premise...and like someone here wrote when they saw it several months back, 'ESPN The Ocho' is an inspired gag...

I still despise Ben Stiller what ever role he's doing...tho thois lunatic character even made me forget it was Ben Stiller playing him...it was not the usual deferential nebbish he constantly retreads...

[chrisfan]

But the Lance Armstrong cameo has got to go down as one of the best comedic cameos ever! "I thought about quitting when I was diagnosed with brain, lung, and testicular cancer. I didn't. But you must be suffering from something pretty big to have a good reason to quit."

[Thorngrub]

"You swing too hard, ass - I swear!" :


www.newgrounds.com/video/SWE3_med.mov

You gotta check this out, weeping -

[RocDoc]

Shit! I forgot about Armstrong delivering that devastating zinger to Vaughan's character...

Yeah, that movie does get an 'A' for its effort....but for me it still had a sorta hollow center..

I blame Stiller. Schmuck.

[luke]

Man, I love Dodgeball. What a great movie.

[Weeping_Guitar]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy [7/10]

Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a book about the silly ironies and unexplainable behavior that make being human so stupid and rewarding at the same time. It uses science fiction to bring us outside our world so we can look back and laugh at and appreciate the wonders of the familiar places and situations that make it home. It's not terribly exciting, but it's terrifically humorous and observant. Thus is the problem one has when adapting a project like this one from it's source. How can one retain the "stop and ponder" ability of text while working it into a linear, character-driven story that can appeal to mainstream audiences? In this case, maybe it can't be done.

The film's opening is maybe the best on screen representation's of Adam's wit. We learn that humans are in fact the third brighest species on earth. Dolphins are the second. We'll later learn who is on top. These water mammals have in fact been warning us of the Earth's impending doom for some time, but have been constantly misinterpreted as wanting to do tricks in exchange for a snack. "So long and thanks for the fish" is their last message (a hilarious song and dance one at that), once again lost to all who could be helped. Arthur Dent is too aware of an impending destruction, but this one to his home, which must be moved to make way for a byway much like the intergalactic one being built through the planet Earth, which too is ironically about to be destroyed. These pilings of ironies are the basis for much of the book's great charm and humor and at the too few moments the film takes it slow enough to stop and enjoy the sidetracks of the book (such as the wonderfully designed Hitchhiker's Guide entries) it captures the essence of the book.

I'd blame my familiarity with the source material for my mixed feelings on the parts of the film differentiating from the book, but knowledge of the source material, in my eyes, is essential to getting a lot out of the film. So many inside jokes would be lost. The film hardly stops to explain just how essential a towel will be to Arthur Dent as he is beamed up to a Vogon Constructor ship, courtesy of his friend For Prefect, who unbeknownest to Arthur is an alien on location seeking information for the Hitchhiker's Guide. The Vogons are known for three things: hating hitchhiker's, their love of bureaucracy, and bad poetry.

When tossed from the Vogon ship they improbably land on the Heart of Gold, a priceless ship stolen by Galatic President Zaphod Beeblebrox. Oddly enough he is not only a distant cousin of Ford's but also recently visited Earth (a planet whose destruction he signed off on) and stole Arthur's could be girl, Trillian, from him days before the events were set in motion. The inronic connections, I can only imagine, are a task for anyone to pick up and probably near impossible for those who haven't read the book. Films don't have the luxury to take time to thoroughly explain these things and it suffers when it ventures into the more action oriented territory of the middle act, which is wholey absent from it's source. The film tries to tie all these doings together by giving Arthur and Trillian's relationship more weight than the book, but feels tacked on.

Hitchhiker's will probably please fans in the sense that it tries so very hard to fit as much of the book into the film as possible. The cast gives it their very best. Martin Freeman in the central role is perfectly ordinary (as he should be) and Mos Def and Sam Rockwell are wonderfully askew as Ford and Zaphod. You'll never hear me complain about Zooey Deschanel in anything. Marvin the robot is perfectly voiced by Alan Rickman and his depressive nature (and the cheery one of the ship) are brought to life just as one would have hoped. It's wonderfully designed and displayed on screen. The journey into the Magrathea construction center are as aweing as the book would have lead us to believe. Film, though, boils down to the tales they tell and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to me is more about how they show us ourselves in the observational quirks of our world rather than traditional narrative. You can't fault the makers for their effort, though, and maybe we should congratulate them on how much they've done with what may be a next to impossible task.

[lunatic96]

The only real complaint I have about HHGTTG is the fact they the butchered the joke about where Arthur goes to find the plans for the bypass which has always been my favorite joke in the book.

[Adam]

Another good review as always, Weeping.
Looks as though I'll have to read the source material (which I planned to anyway). However, what about the BBC miniseries and the radio plays (if available)?

I've recently had an itching to see Oliver Stone's Alexander whenever it comes out on DVD. I've read an truly extensive interview that Cineaste magazine did with him in which he defends his latest opus. He had some good explanations and hinted that two versions will be released on DVD: the theatrical cut and a director's cut, the latter of which he said is actually shorter.
Flawed it may be, I'm still interested after losing my chance to see it last year.

[Thorngrub]

~Hitched a ride with the Guide --- and damned if we all didn't LOL most of the way through: thoroughly, even quite unexpectedly, enjoyable. Of course I am a huge fan of the book, from back in the day. Whether it was partially due to all the time passed since last I read it (meaning I'd forgotten most of the goings-on and therefore wasn't "bothered" by any inaccuracies the film may have depicted) or whether this was one helluva lovingly made adaptation, I'll leave for you to decide. All I'm saying is here is a movie I could easily see again, and this will make one superbad DVD to own and watch over and over again. Sam Rockwell was perfect as Zaphod, Mos Def did a damn fine Ford Prefect, the guy who played Arthur was just right -- and the girl -- yowza. Alan Rickman -- ok, I just don't see much of anything wrong with this -- there was humour, zany action, crazed free thinking philosophical theorizing (as it should be) -- with the far more "serious" tone inherent to Revenge Of The Sith, I'm afraid Lucas has got some fierce competition right here with The Hitchhiker's Guide. I say it deserves at least 8 out of 10 stars -- Three enthusiastic thumbs up

[Thorngrub]

On the other hand, I also went and saw OLDBOY. Lordy. I have to say, Mary may have a point about the relevance of such sadomasochistic tendencies as revealed through this disturbingly engaging Korean ride through the underbelly of vengeance. Herein we get to see not merely a story of one "innocent" man who has been imprisoned for 15 yrs in a private room while he gets to witness news reports of his wife being murdered and himself getting slowly framed for it, then one day is suddenly released with a new set of clothes and money so that he may take out his revenge upon his torturous captor, but we slowly learn of the captor's own vengeance he is executing due to some excruciating twist of consciousness borne of having had an incestual affair with his sister . . . to tell you the truth, the exact reasoning behind this sadistic overseer of "Oldboy's" mindboggling degree of torture was somewhat lost on me -- Mary could you kindly remind me exactly what the reason "Oldboy" was culpable in the eyes of his torturer --? I was trying to discern if the Oldboy wasn't even really guilty of anything, and it was all some twisted self-justification in the eyes of his nemesis, or what. I sympathize with your aggravation for movies nowadays who seem to be trying to "outdo" one another in terms of the old ultraviolence -- as Oldboy at least seems to have succeeded in on at least several superficial levels. Woe to the audience member who may have overlooked a crucial detail here or there in the explicit unfolding of these sadistic events, for I would expect them to be hard pressed to have to sit through it all again in order to ascertain what those exact details were exactly -- not a ride I feel I want to embark on again, necessarily. Although I can't say the film was entirely without thoughtful justifications for its raison d'etre; clever, certainly -- only the depth to which its depravity sinks makes the audience consider whether there is enough justification to warrant the plot material and unfolding of events depicted. Most certainly not for the squeamish -- Oldboy seems more of a postmodern exercise for the hopelessly bored dilettante who would otherwise pass their time yawningly pulling the wings off flies. People have criticized SIN CITY as being a story with a "moral vacuum" -- these people would fare better directing such criticism to Oldboy than they would toward SIN CITY, which I thought was quite obviously and intentionally a "morality tale" with a very strong moral center. Oldboy on the other hand really does seem like a vacuous exercise in extremist morality-stripping to reveal at its heart a literal absence of any morality whatsoever in the center of any of its characters. In that respect I feel it may be considered a more thoughtful work of art than its audience may be capable of enduring sufficiently by film's end in order to appreciate it. Oldboy brings new dimensions to the "difficult" film and compounds this by seeming hellbent on contriving a situation so bleak and devoid of morality in every conceivable way that it probably succeeds in breaking through such old stereotypical movie-posturings in order to explore brand new territories in the realm of inhumane motivation; I say "compounds" this because after it is through making its depraved point I don't know how many audience members' sense of normal morality would have sustained it through to the end. This is where the film sort of works against itself. It is almost an open invitation to sadomasochists everywhere, which puts the audience in a most uncomfortable spot, to say the least.

In the final analysis -- I cannot discredit the maker of Oldboy entirely. It is powerful filmmaking taken to a new level -- something that deserves credit in and of itself -- as well as an exploration of immorality taken to new depths. Having said that, what it reveals about both the filmmaker as well as the audience reactions must perforce be of extreme interest to psychology in general -- it just may not fare all that rewardingly insofar as a day at the movies goes. Oldboy is a powerful and disturbing work of art -- so successful in that endeavor in fact that it leaves the most jaded audience member with a bad taste in their mouth afterwards. Know of another movie that can say that-?

[luke]

I thought I was pumped for Star Wars, but this...THIS, my friends, is the movie event of the summer. Bar fucking none.

www.preciousnightmare.com/download/misc/landtrailer_wmv.wmv

[pissin2]

Hell yeah. F Star Wars.