Cinemexperience: part deux., Some more filums you saw. Options

[logger]

Full Metal Jacket

It was on tv last night and I've seen it loads of times before but if it hadn't been for looking into things on the internet I would never have realised that the hole in the wall Cowboy gets shot through magically appears after he first passes it and the fact that they run past a mysterious crouching soldier who shouldn't be there just blows me away.

[maian]

Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

Watched in honour of Ray Bradbury's passing and because it's a Truffaut film I haven't seen and, aside from a great ending and stunning set design, I thought that it was not very good. It feels very stilted an unnatural, a combination of Truffaut not being able to fully read or speak English when he wrote the film and Oskar Werner's decision to deliver his lines in a mechanical and robotic fashion, a decision which is antithetical to the humanism of the story. Truffaut and Werner famously came to hate each other by the end of the film, and it's kind of obvious throughout that their different approaches to the material don't mesh.

The design of the film is really interesting for the way in which it reflects the way in which people in the '60s thought that the future would look, and there's something very chic about the whole thing, but the off-putting performances make the whole thing feel pretty airless. Truffaut's playfulness also feels out of place, particularly in the moment when he has someone burn a copy of Fahrenheit 451 itself, which is distractingly postmodern.

The only really amazing moment is the final scene, which finds the Book People walking around reciting their memorised volumes, and which has a strange power to it that is missing from the rest of the film.

[logger]

I'm now going through her analysis of Clockwork Orange.

Absolutely fascinating, I'd recommend reading this for any fans of the film.

[Rebus]

Absolutely fascinating, I'd recommend reading this for any fans of the film.

Yeah I'm still reading through Eyes Wide Shut and so far it's infinitely more enjoyable than my first time watching it. Will have to watch it again armed with all this insight, and then go through Kubrick's back catalogue again after reading the other analyses.

[dandan]

prometheus

positives:
- charlize theron wears clothes well
- fassbender does a good o'toole impression
- it was in focus
- i saw it for free, after last week's attempt to see it ended with a refund and a free ticket as the sound wasn't working

negatives:
- noomi rapace is dreadful and probably shouldn't be in films
- the script was bad, both in terms of the dreadful dialogue and the stupidity of the narrative
- guy pearce, really?
- all the characters are stupid
- all the characters are stupidly written
- underused benedict wong

as the girl behind me said to her friend at the end of the film; "well, that was a waste of time, wasn't it?". it was and she was right. it just goes to show that directors who attempt to prove that they still have talent, by plundering the spoils of their finest moment, do nothing but prove they are only capable of producing something worthless.

[logger]

Yeah I'm still reading through Eyes Wide Shut and so far it's infinitely more enjoyable than my first time watching it. Will have to watch it again armed with all this insight, and then go through Kubrick's back catalogue again after reading the other analyses.

Her piecing together of Alex's parcel, the mural in the foyer of the block of flats and variations on 114 in Clockwork Orange leading to the story of the leviathan if true, and although we'll never have any way of knowing it does seem probable, you begin to understand why he went to so much trouble to put these things in there, going beyond mere subliminal suggestion and creating intricate "puzzles", he must have known these films would be studied in depth.

[NiteFall]

The Muppets

Loved it. Simple as that.

[Julie]

The Muppets

Loved it. Simple as that.

This is correct.

Prometheus A bit like a very attractive person who is also as dumb as a bag of hammers.

Safety Not Guaranteed Quirky without being obnoxious and heartfelt without being saccharine.

Moonrise Kingdom Exactly what you hope for from Wes Anderson. Everything was spot on and the kids they found to play the leads were just incredible. Great performances all around, in fact. Absolutely lovely.

[Raven]

Prometheus A bit like a very attractive person who is also as dumb as a bag of hammers.

Best review yet! (and from what I have heard, completely accurate!).

[monkeyman]

The Muppets

Loved it. Simple as that.

Same here. And that's coming from someone without any attachment/nostalgia for The Muppets; (I never really watched it when I was younger)

[Outatime]

Moonrise Kingdom Exactly what you hope for from Wes Anderson. Everything was spot on and the kids they found to play the leads were just incredible. Great performances all around, in fact. Absolutely lovely.

I concur. I liked the kitten too.

[maian]

The kitten was adorable. The film almost lost me when they killed the dog, though. I mean, what the fuck, Wes?

Prometheus - There were a lot of things about it that I found interesting, but on the whole I really didn't like it. Swing and a miss from Ridley.

[Rebus]

Prometheus

I thoroughly enjoyed it. While I was watching it the stunning visuals and general look of the whole film distracted me from the mountain of plot holes that abounded. I didn't find the characters, aside from Charlize Theron's, particularly annoying, and Idris Elba stole the film just as much as Michael Fassbender did but my god, so many plot holes. I was disappointed in some of the same tired old tropes that are dragged out in many movies; when a spaceship is falling on you run to the side motherfucker!, dum dum duuuum that person is that other person's father!, and don't touch a goddamned thing when you're on another planet you moron! chief among them. Also right after the cesarean scene, the pacing seemed to go all over the place. I feel as though a major scene around that bit was cut out that would tied things together a bit and not made it as haphazard.

I kept up with what was going on quite well I thought, but thinking back on it, I have no clue what was going on at the very beginning during the prologue bit. What planet was that on? Why did the person in the scene do what they did? It seems like there was more to that scene. But anyway, as much as it was at times a bit silly, I cannot bring myself to dislike it.

[GundamGuy_UK]

I kept up with what was going on quite well I thought, but thinking back on it, I have no clue what was going on at the very beginning during the prologue bit. What planet was that on? Why did the person in the scene do what they did? It seems like there was more to that scene. But anyway, as much as it was at times a bit silly, I cannot bring myself to dislike it.

I've seen a photo of an Engineer 'Elder' in the same location as that scene, so there was definitely more filmed. Perhaps they will be on the DVD and will help pave the way for the sequel?

[logger]

Prometheus

Once upon a time, this had a chance of being a good film, but either through laziness, ineptitude or a lack of respect for the audience (and whilst I wouldn't rule out a combination of all three, because of the money, people and industry involved I'm going to go with lack of respect) we end up with a not good film. It doesn't help that this was a completely different film which has been reworked to fit in with Alien (I'm guessing), the alien ship crushing characters beneath it a fitting metaphor. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a few screenplays added together, which would explain some of the events that lead nowhere, the poorly written characters (it feels like a stretch to refer to them as such) and the awful dialogue.

It's not the worst film ever made, it looks good, it still manages to at least allude to depth and I really liked Fassbender's David, although I don't want to single out his performance against the rest of the cast as he wasn't as hindered, having the closest to a fully realised character.

Ridley Scott is a rich and powerful man so why he decided to make this is a bit of a mystery. He shouldn't need the money, he should be able to do better and he should have more respect for himself, as it's his legacy he's fucking with.