Fafhrd on 17/1/2010 at 01:23
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
A
Big Lebowski reference in your list yet not a murmer about
A Serious Man?
Other than being my #10?
Scots Taffer on 17/1/2010 at 02:02
They always said too much masturbation would lead to it... In fairness, I probably blanked it at #10 because there's little possibility that it deserves to be ranked so low. For shame. :(
Neb on 18/1/2010 at 00:20
I really enjoyed Red Cliff, but if you want to watch it then track down the original Chinese version (in two parts). The western release has two hours cut out, so half of the whole thing is gone. :mad:
It's a really fun epic action film based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Morte on 20/1/2010 at 10:29
Quote Posted by Fafhrd
I could probably write a fairly lengthy essay about how St. Petersberg is absolutely necessary for Bloom as a character, and how the groundwork for it being part of the main con starts being laid during the after-party, but to do that here would be to thoroughly spoil the film for anyone that hasn't seen it. I've probably gushed too much over it as it is. I don't think enough good can be said about Mark Ruffalo (an actor who I'd never really more than 'liked' before) and Rinko Kikuchi's work in this.
I agree that the groundwork for St. Peterburg is being laid all of the way, but it just didn't work for me. I realised somewhere in Mexico that, yeah,
Stephen's got a plan and everything is going to go according to it, which sapped all the tension of the last act for me. I was mostly twiddling my thumbs, waiting for him to die after pulling of the great con that'd finally let Bloom get the girl and be happy.Tocky on 22/1/2010 at 05:22
I was surprised by Moon, faf. A very science fiction writery movie of the old school style. Clever. I guess I was a little disappointed that it revealed the twist halfway and then didn't explore the mindfuck but rather calmly melted it into the plot as if that acceptance was part of his character. Damn good though.
ACT SMILEY on 26/1/2010 at 00:30
Quote Posted by Fafhrd
3. Inglourious Basterds. Tarantino's best film. Hands down. A WWII men on a mission movie that's only tangentially about men on a mission, containing what should be breakout work for Chrisoph Waltz, Melanie Laurent, and Michael Fassbender. Eli Roth is probably the only weak link in the cast, and even then, only for one line. Some masterfully tense scenes (that unfortunately don't play quite as well on repeat watches, mainly because the tension comes from knowing that something is going to go horribly wrong at some point, but not knowing when or how), and possibly the single most incredible shot in a film last year. And I love that the Basterds and Shosanna threads only connect by accident. It almost turns the entire thing into a con movie, but one where only the audience is really in on the con.
I can see why you'd like it , but personally I found it just a pile of nice ideas, neat tricks and set pieces that add up to a messy 'meh' of a film.
Despite strong acting (minus Brad Pitt who was irritating to say the least), the characters are basically only properly developed on the Shosanna part of the story and personally the tension-building you mention fell a little flat - which meant that instead of being a slow ratcheting of the tension like it should have been, the bar scene just seemed overly long. I don't know why I felt that though really, given that the scene with Shosanna and Landa tried the same thing and worked extremely well despite the slightly ott sound-effects and flashback stuff. The ending was a bit disappointing really; the motivations of Waltz's character towards the end didn't work and took some focus off the end of the other plot thread, which was just plain better.
To be honest, while I'm with you on the fact that having the two seperate threads remain seperate was a nice idea, and the whole con-movie feel thing, I think the way in which the styles of the two were made contrasting just seemed to make me think the Basterds side of the plot was there just to fill out those ideas rather than anything else - I found the Shosanna plot thread held the film together, it just seemed far more finished rather than a collection of ideas pasted together.
Aja on 26/1/2010 at 00:33
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs gets thumbs up from me; unlike Madagascar or Open Season or any of those lesser cartoons, the humour is surprisingly subtle. And of course the animation is very pretty.
