It's Complicated (Nancy Meyers, 2009) 5/10
Kept wondering why Steve Martin accepted a part in this film.
Edited By Reza on 1263052680
Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Is this sequel a made for tv film?Precious Doll wrote:An Englishman in New York (2009) Richard Laxton 7/10
Sequel to The Naked Civil Servant has the great John Hurt repeating his role as Quentin Crisp living in New York during the last two decades of his life. It's not as interesting as the earlier film, partly because it's set during a period that I lived through myself, though it has some very moving moments.
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Precious Doll
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The Hurt Locker (2009) Kathryn Bigelow 7/10
Certainly far superior than any other Iraq themed film to come out of the U.S. which may partially explain it's critical success. It is however no match for Nick Broomfield's powerful Battle for Haditha.
Solidly directed and well acted within the limits of the screenplay with some excellent set pieces. Bigelow's best film remains Near Dark.
His Brother's Wife (1936) W. S. Van Dyke 5/10
I'll watch anything with Barbara Stanwyck and as silly as this film is, it is surprisingly entertaining. Interesting it was originally intended for Jean Harlow.
An Englishman in New York (2009) Richard Laxton 7/10
Sequel to The Naked Civil Servant has the great John Hurt repeating his role as Quentin Crisp living in New York during the last two decades of his life. It's not as interesting as the earlier film, partly because it's set during a period that I lived through myself, though it has some very moving moments.
Certainly far superior than any other Iraq themed film to come out of the U.S. which may partially explain it's critical success. It is however no match for Nick Broomfield's powerful Battle for Haditha.
Solidly directed and well acted within the limits of the screenplay with some excellent set pieces. Bigelow's best film remains Near Dark.
His Brother's Wife (1936) W. S. Van Dyke 5/10
I'll watch anything with Barbara Stanwyck and as silly as this film is, it is surprisingly entertaining. Interesting it was originally intended for Jean Harlow.
An Englishman in New York (2009) Richard Laxton 7/10
Sequel to The Naked Civil Servant has the great John Hurt repeating his role as Quentin Crisp living in New York during the last two decades of his life. It's not as interesting as the earlier film, partly because it's set during a period that I lived through myself, though it has some very moving moments.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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anonymous1980
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The Daytrippers (dir. Greg Mottola) - 5/10
I like Greg Mottola. I really like his handling of Superbad quite a bit. I like it whenever he directs an episode of television. I was recommended this picture by a friend of mine, one of those mid-90's forgotten quirkfests. By the end of the film, I wasn't sure if I had gained anything but I enjoyed it in parts. It's a little under-reaching in its narrative. I think a smarter film might actually start at the end of the film. But it's worth it to see Campbell Scott, Liev Schreiber, Stanley Tucci, Parker Posey, and in one scene Marcia Gay Harden so young and funny. Better things ahead with Adventureland hopefully.
I like Greg Mottola. I really like his handling of Superbad quite a bit. I like it whenever he directs an episode of television. I was recommended this picture by a friend of mine, one of those mid-90's forgotten quirkfests. By the end of the film, I wasn't sure if I had gained anything but I enjoyed it in parts. It's a little under-reaching in its narrative. I think a smarter film might actually start at the end of the film. But it's worth it to see Campbell Scott, Liev Schreiber, Stanley Tucci, Parker Posey, and in one scene Marcia Gay Harden so young and funny. Better things ahead with Adventureland hopefully.
"How's the despair?"
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Precious Doll
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Shadows in the Sun (2009) David Rocksavage 4/10
Jean Simmons' first big screen appearance since that terrible 'quilt' film in 1995 is a disappointment. Despite her prominent role she doesn't really have very much to do other then utter some inane dialogue.
Set in the 1960's the film appears to have autobiographically elements. It's a shame that the recollections weren't more engaging.
Jean Simmons' first big screen appearance since that terrible 'quilt' film in 1995 is a disappointment. Despite her prominent role she doesn't really have very much to do other then utter some inane dialogue.
Set in the 1960's the film appears to have autobiographically elements. It's a shame that the recollections weren't more engaging.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
A Single Man
8/10
Beautiful subtle performance by Firth. Really impressed with Julianne Moore as well.
Looks fantastic, of course.
Nice to see Don Bachardy, Isherwood's partner, (very briefly) in the scene when George arrives at the College, saying, Hello Don.
If it is available I recommend Chris And Don. A Love Story
3.5/5
It fills in a lot about their life together.
Edited By abcinyvr on 1262926593
8/10
Beautiful subtle performance by Firth. Really impressed with Julianne Moore as well.
Looks fantastic, of course.
Nice to see Don Bachardy, Isherwood's partner, (very briefly) in the scene when George arrives at the College, saying, Hello Don.
If it is available I recommend Chris And Don. A Love Story
3.5/5
It fills in a lot about their life together.
Edited By abcinyvr on 1262926593
/Fantastic Mr. Fox/ (Wes Anderson) - 9/10
No real change. In this sixth feature, Wes Anderson directly comments on the behavioral elitism that has draped about his movies as wardrobe perennially in comically nonchalant battle with instinct. I found it to be a stronger emotional experience in the margins of George Clooney's species-identity crisis, and in Meryl Streep's ever-so-warm line-readings. The scene by the waterfall is especially touching. I wish there was a way for more of Rat in the film.
No real change. In this sixth feature, Wes Anderson directly comments on the behavioral elitism that has draped about his movies as wardrobe perennially in comically nonchalant battle with instinct. I found it to be a stronger emotional experience in the margins of George Clooney's species-identity crisis, and in Meryl Streep's ever-so-warm line-readings. The scene by the waterfall is especially touching. I wish there was a way for more of Rat in the film.
"How's the despair?"
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Precious Doll
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Sherlock Holmes (2009) Guy Ritchie 1/10
A Woman in Berlin (2008) Max Farberbock 8/10
The Princess and the Frog (2009) Ron Clements & John Musker 5/10
Lion's Den (2008) Pablo Trapero 7/10
The Informers (2009) Gregor Taylor 1/10
Did You Here About the Morgans? (2009) Marc Lawrence 4/10
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) Wes Anderson 7/10
A Woman in Berlin (2008) Max Farberbock 8/10
The Princess and the Frog (2009) Ron Clements & John Musker 5/10
Lion's Den (2008) Pablo Trapero 7/10
The Informers (2009) Gregor Taylor 1/10
Did You Here About the Morgans? (2009) Marc Lawrence 4/10
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) Wes Anderson 7/10
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
RE: Where the Wild Things Are, and becoming Damien-specific four paragraphs down.
I was engaged in a halfway epic twitter battle between my writing partner when I posted my issues with Where the Wild Things Are that turned just short of goddamned snippy cutting off at:
"I don't know how to make this any clearer: it's not about the narrative or even about "character" arcs...It's an abstract meditation on childhood grief. What "plot" there is exists just to string together emotional insights and conceits."
I was in the middle of something and didn't feel like dragging it out further but I would have responded with my complaint that whether or not Where the Wild Things Are is a meditation along the lines of Denis, it doesn't mean that a character arc is irrelevant. At the end of the film, I honestly don't feel that this kid has grown or even been impacted terribly by the WT's as contrasted by the liberated smile on his face. We argued additionally about whether or not the WT's can be viewed as metaphors. Sendak's monsters defied definition, like Hobbes from C&H. They exist as imaginary AND real. Jonze seeks to do the same thing. They are defined not as the partying animals of Sendak's book, but as manifestations of Max's divorce anxiety. And they're genuinely sad manifestations, as one would imagine. My friend seems to think that because they are metaphors, they are not real and can be left; but that isn't the brick-road that Jonze has laid down throughout the film. Max doesn't seem to have much of a problem leaving.
This is something that has hampered the movie in my estimation. The other thing that has hampered it (coming back to Damien) is whether or not I really enjoyed it. At a certain point, this is just not a movie for everybody. You either read into it and respond OR find the island obnoxious as hell. I didn't, but I found parts of it tedious. Max's experiences on the island are as follows:
1) He finds friends.
2) He becomes their king.
3) They become a family.
4) He sees his home.
5) He cultivates it. It is perfect!
6) ...but it is not. They are all going through relationship problems.
7) He tries to fix it by talking to KW. She has new friends who Carol does not approve of.
He tries to get everyone to play together!
9) It fails and everything is worse than before.
10) Everybody walks on eggshells and he ultimately has to leave with the knowledge that he cannot fix everything.
...Jonze and Eggers have adapted Where the Wild Things Are interpreted through the eyes of a preadolescent. KW having other friends is how a preadolescent would interpret an affair, and all the characters essentially follow suit. Basically you can put up with Where the Wild Things Are about as much as an obnoxious kid. Because I can put up with obnoxious kids and my parents stayed together in a relatively happy marriage, I can only do so much heavy lifting. I think it's the definitive Spike Jonze film as an author, even if I prefer Being John Malkovich intensely. Everything that Spike Jonze does as a director is here on display. I admire its miniature even if I find the third act - yes, meditations have them! - lacking.
Perhaps it would have been more conventional, but I almost definitely would have preferred seeing it had he not left for the island and the film became a sister to the live-action Calvin & Hobbes that always needed to happen.
I was engaged in a halfway epic twitter battle between my writing partner when I posted my issues with Where the Wild Things Are that turned just short of goddamned snippy cutting off at:
"I don't know how to make this any clearer: it's not about the narrative or even about "character" arcs...It's an abstract meditation on childhood grief. What "plot" there is exists just to string together emotional insights and conceits."
I was in the middle of something and didn't feel like dragging it out further but I would have responded with my complaint that whether or not Where the Wild Things Are is a meditation along the lines of Denis, it doesn't mean that a character arc is irrelevant. At the end of the film, I honestly don't feel that this kid has grown or even been impacted terribly by the WT's as contrasted by the liberated smile on his face. We argued additionally about whether or not the WT's can be viewed as metaphors. Sendak's monsters defied definition, like Hobbes from C&H. They exist as imaginary AND real. Jonze seeks to do the same thing. They are defined not as the partying animals of Sendak's book, but as manifestations of Max's divorce anxiety. And they're genuinely sad manifestations, as one would imagine. My friend seems to think that because they are metaphors, they are not real and can be left; but that isn't the brick-road that Jonze has laid down throughout the film. Max doesn't seem to have much of a problem leaving.
This is something that has hampered the movie in my estimation. The other thing that has hampered it (coming back to Damien) is whether or not I really enjoyed it. At a certain point, this is just not a movie for everybody. You either read into it and respond OR find the island obnoxious as hell. I didn't, but I found parts of it tedious. Max's experiences on the island are as follows:
1) He finds friends.
2) He becomes their king.
3) They become a family.
4) He sees his home.
5) He cultivates it. It is perfect!
6) ...but it is not. They are all going through relationship problems.
7) He tries to fix it by talking to KW. She has new friends who Carol does not approve of.
He tries to get everyone to play together!9) It fails and everything is worse than before.
10) Everybody walks on eggshells and he ultimately has to leave with the knowledge that he cannot fix everything.
...Jonze and Eggers have adapted Where the Wild Things Are interpreted through the eyes of a preadolescent. KW having other friends is how a preadolescent would interpret an affair, and all the characters essentially follow suit. Basically you can put up with Where the Wild Things Are about as much as an obnoxious kid. Because I can put up with obnoxious kids and my parents stayed together in a relatively happy marriage, I can only do so much heavy lifting. I think it's the definitive Spike Jonze film as an author, even if I prefer Being John Malkovich intensely. Everything that Spike Jonze does as a director is here on display. I admire its miniature even if I find the third act - yes, meditations have them! - lacking.
Perhaps it would have been more conventional, but I almost definitely would have preferred seeing it had he not left for the island and the film became a sister to the live-action Calvin & Hobbes that always needed to happen.
"How's the despair?"
I think the film will find its audience and grow on people as it ages. Perhaps some of the older gentlemen here can vouch for this, but I read somewhere that the original Willy Wonka film was critically panned and a box-office disappointment. It didn't gain traction until repeated TV airings, and that film had plenty of boring moments in it. Wild Things was a mix of "masterpiece" and "disaster" reviews, doing modest business. So maybe it'll grow.
Nothing against what you're saying, Damien, because I can also see it from your perspective too. Just felt like conversing.
{Insert smiley emoticon of choice here}
Edited By Zahveed on 1262740106
Nothing against what you're saying, Damien, because I can also see it from your perspective too. Just felt like conversing.
{Insert smiley emoticon of choice here}
Edited By Zahveed on 1262740106
"It's the least most of us can do, but less of us will do more."
Where The Wild Things Are
The first 15 minutes or so are just wonderful – the film here is wonderfully evocative in capturing what it’s like to be kid. But once Max goes to where the wild things are, the film becomes incredibly irritating and a hell of a bore. There’s just no sense of wonder here and the movie becomes almost unbearable to watch. Maybe smoking some weed would have helped.
Zahveed, I love your reading of the film, but I found sitting in the theatre looking at the screen to be such torture that I didn't ever even approach analyzing what it all meant.
2/10
Edited By Damien on 1262750846
The first 15 minutes or so are just wonderful – the film here is wonderfully evocative in capturing what it’s like to be kid. But once Max goes to where the wild things are, the film becomes incredibly irritating and a hell of a bore. There’s just no sense of wonder here and the movie becomes almost unbearable to watch. Maybe smoking some weed would have helped.
Zahveed, I love your reading of the film, but I found sitting in the theatre looking at the screen to be such torture that I didn't ever even approach analyzing what it all meant.
2/10
Edited By Damien on 1262750846
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell