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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 12:46 pm
by Bog
VanHelsing wrote:I voted for Brokeback Mountain... I felt Boys Don't Cry was more moving and touching... and Hilary was certainly Oscar material in BDC...
is there a thread comparing these 2 somewhere that I missed? Or where did this statement come from?
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 7:38 am
by VanHelsing
I voted for Brokeback Mountain... I felt Boys Don't Cry was more moving and touching... and Hilary was certainly Oscar material in BDC...
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 1:18 am
by Franz Ferdinand
Grizzly Man and The Constant Gardener are the only two I haven't seen (my friends all disliked Gardener, but then again they all loved the Island, so I can't take their word seriously at all, I look forward to renting it this weekend).
I actually enjoyed all of the movies on the list. I try to be as objective as possible when seeing a movie, and watch them for the sake of watching a movie: I'm not overly concerned with the broad themes they try to present, or the hype that follows them. If I like the direction, the acting, the dialogue, the music, the pacing, I generally like the movie and think well of it.
- Brokeback Mountain was geniunely moving and had amazing performances that deserve to be canonized.
- A History of Violence packed a visceral punch, asked important questions, and presented a creepy villain with William Hurt's performance.
- Capote was somewhat distant, but it was engrossing for its duration. Reconsideration is knocking it lower on my appreciation scale, I'll need another viewing to determine its rating.
- Good Night and Good Luck (au contraire, Penelope) was tense, enormously well-acted, and a transcendant experience, a time-machine back to 1957 in every small detail.
- King Kong was redeemed by the splendid third hour (after a suffocating second, and an entertaining but indifferent first). It's good for what is is - a huge-budget action adventure.
- The Squid and the Whale was almost Royal Tenenbaum-esque in its attention to detail, bittersweet humor, and spledid ensemble performances. Thing to change? Too short.
- Munich wasn't as good as the hype would make it, but it was pretty swell nonetheless. Again, terrific performances, high tension and excellent direction, very 70's feel. End falls apart, but it's a good movie.
In the end, I went for Crash's scattershot plot and uneven pace. Yes, there are some great performances, but all in all it was shallow and certainly nothing spectacular. It's nice to see it tackle an important topic, but it can - and will - be done better in the future.
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 10:41 pm
by Penelope
As for my selection, I debated between King Kong, Crash and Good Night, and Good Luck. The first is an overblown extravaganza that has a mind-bogglingly awful first hour, a chaotic second hour and an absolutely splendid final hour--but, by that time, I was so exhausted I was glad the movie was finally ending (plus, aside from the luminous Naomi Watts and the amusing Kyle Chandler, the cast was pretty much hopeless).
But Kong seems to be out of the running for Academy recognition, while Crash and Good Night seem headed for major recognition at the Oscars. While both films are noble efforts, the results are less than impressive. Though Crash is burdened with an overwrought script filled with eye-rolling situations and shallow characters, the editing is tight and brisk and certain members of the cast (Matt Dillon, Terrence Howard, Thandie Newton) raise the film's level considerably.
On the other hand, despite the best efforts of a fine cast including David Strathairn and Frank Langella, and themes to which I am thoroughly sympathetic, I found Good Night, and Good Luck to be a total bore of a film. Sure, I learned a lot about how newscasts were produced in the 1950s, but that doesn't make for a dramatically interesting film--sorry, but this film has zero tension, a "villain" who is essentially off-screen, and is so narrowly focused it's almost claustrophobic (that may have been the point, but it pushed me away from the film rather than invite me in). So, Good Night, and Good Luck earns my vote for most overrated movie of the year.
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 10:32 pm
by Sonic Youth
They're ALL overrated!
Movies should never come pre-packaged with breathless hype. I've never seen another year with such "Masterpiece! Masterpiece!" declarations.
Crash can't be overrated because it has plenty of vocal haters, so it averages out.
I picked Constant Gardener because it's my least favorite.
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 10:28 pm
by Penelope
Well, folks, here it is again, the ?th annual most overrated film of the year poll (surely, this is the 4th or 5th year I've been doing this). Once again, I've taken this list from Engin's ranking of critic's top 10 selections. Of course, feel free to write-in your own selection if you feel all ten of these movies are fully deserving of their praise. With that, let the debates begin....