Pooro I agree with you a lot about this film, particularly the 'filtered City of God' comment. That was a film that combined a devastating look at the problem of poverty and slum life while remaining engaging, humorous and unbelievably impetuous. This, on the other hand, felt kind of flimsy, like Dickens-lite. I still enjoyed it (especially anil kapoor) but where all this award talk is coming from is a myyyyyssteeeeery.
Ooh, yeah, Dickens-lite is a great way to describe it.
pooro i think the worst part about her situation was that she was completely resigned to it for pretty much her whole life
like shes stuck in a shit life and expects bad things to happen and thinks theres no hope trying to run or fight it
i dont think they ever really showed her crying or acting really upset about anything she had been through
but they did show her pretty much accepting all of it, giving up, and trying to get the guy to give up as well
and a lot of that may or may not have been her way of trying to protect jamal
but tryin to protect him by telling him not to do anything while she lets herself be taken advantage of is still pretty resigned and hopeless
the idea that she couldnt be happy at the end because she had been through so much shit seems very off
like the worst thing that happened to her is the cumulative stripping of her hope for anything else
Yeah, you don't get to systematically abuse and break down a character and then act like a kiss at the train station erases all that.
Slumdog millionare was very good. Not my favorite Danny Boyle movie but that's because I gravitate more towards stuff like 28 days later and Sunshine, but Slumdog might be his most praised and acclaimed work to date. Something to finally get him the recognition he deserves.
Also, Pooro how do you feel about me saying The Wrestler is better than There Will Be Blood?
Aguirre just pissed me off. Stroszek was my favourite Herzog. I fell asleep about 5 minutes into Heart of Glass.
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DynagripBreak me a million heartsHoustonRegistered User, ClubPAregular
edited January 2009
I liked this movie but I agree with Pooro and Walrus to some extent. It lacked some substance though the style was pretty good. I hadn't even really thought of the City of God comparison, obvious as it is.
Anyway, I'll probably buy it when it hits DVD anyway. Looking at my DVD collection I apparently really like Danny Boyle.
Hey I finally saw this last night. It was delightful. Although they were showing some Sundance films in the same theater and I really wanted to sneak into one of those instead.
i'm going to reserve judgment until i'll have thought about it some more, since it's certainly not a simple movie, but i will say this
phillip symour hoffman was brilliant
pooro i am interested to hear what you thought of it
Synecdoche, NY was the best 2008 movie I saw.
Not my favorite (That honor goes to Rachel Getting Married), but the best.
It was like a fine piece of literature. Watching it was kind of like work, but intensely satisfying work. That motherfucker is going to be discussed and debated until you and I are old and gray, mark my words.
For me, personally, the pivotal scene was the recreation of the funeral. When the preacher breaks the fourth wall (As if that fucking movie had a fourth wall. Fucking thing had, bare minimum, 14 walls). It was an astoundingly brilliant monologue on its own, but in the context of the movie as a whole, I feel it was even more significant.
What's really fascinating to me, and what makes me want to watch it over and over again, are the questions raised.
For instance:
Are the fact that Caden was accused of being a homosexual by his daughter, and the fact that his final stand-in was portrayed by a woman, intertwined? Is the war going on in the outside world, that eventually spills into the world of the play, solely a commentary on how artists get so involved in their art that they lose sight of the outside world? Or does it have even deeper significance? What the hell was the deal with the perpetually burning house, aside from being the source of many of the film's biggest laughs?
Syndecdoche is brilliant yet confounding, like a Pynchon novel set to screen and with a few more titties
Rachel Getting Married is fucking fantastic and all you fuckers had better see it when it goes to wide release on Friday
And Slumdog Millionaire is very technically competent, but is only emotionally satisfying to people who would ever describe a piece of art as "Too depressing" and think the remark was a valid piece of criticism
But as a character study, I felt it was a little too cold and analytical. It was very deep, and very insightful, don't get me wrong. But as exemplified by the way the tracking shots were always from the back, it always felt like Ram was under observation. Under a microscope. I never felt like I was inside his head, or like I empathized with him. It felt more like a documentary of an interesting dude than a genuine portrait of a fleshed out character.
After all, Raging Bull gave us the scene in the prison cell.
The Wrestler did, however, have the absolute best use of a credits song that I have ever, ever seen.
But as a character study, I felt it was a little too cold and analytical. It was very deep, and very insightful, don't get me wrong. But as exemplified by the way the tracking shots were always from the back, it always felt like Ram was under observation. Under a microscope. I never felt like I was inside his head, or like I empathized with him. It felt more like a documentary of an interesting dude than a genuine portrait of a fleshed out character.
After all, Raging Bull gave us the scene in the prison cell.
The Wrestler did, however, have the absolute best use of a credits song that I have ever, ever seen.
The way it was filmed and how effective that visual style was comes down to personal taste, but I felt like I got to know the guy extremely well through how realistic everything was. I guess it kind of felt like a documentary, but it showed all the aspects of him and his life, his way of thinking and his selfishness in a completely unbiased manner. It showed him for who he is, plain and simple, with no pretensions whatsoever.
But then again, sometimes I think maybe the movie was trying to have a slightly different take on the classic character study. It was trying to make a point, send a message, show the audience the big philosophical ideas it was trying to portray through the main character. The ending is so profoundly powerful, not just because of Randy's path leading up to that moment, but because it's also a broader statement on the human condition; ideas regarding purpose and such.
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i should dig out my dvd
It's decent
although that scene with the smurf conversation is pretty great
also sparklevision
but yeah shit makes no sense
sparkle motion
it's been like 4 years
sometimes i question his commitment
the good news is I bought a blu ray player yesterday and god I love it so much
of course when I brought it home the power went for 5 hours, but still
Ooh, yeah, Dickens-lite is a great way to describe it.
Yeah, you don't get to systematically abuse and break down a character and then act like a kiss at the train station erases all that.
Also, Pooro how do you feel about me saying The Wrestler is better than There Will Be Blood?
People love Aguirre and Fitzcarraldo, andthey're definitly bothe worth watching, but man, Cobra Verde doesnt get enoughl love.
Anyway, I'll probably buy it when it hits DVD anyway. Looking at my DVD collection I apparently really like Danny Boyle.
I am seriously doubting YaYa's dedication to Sparkle Motion.
i'm going to reserve judgment until i'll have thought about it some more, since it's certainly not a simple movie, but i will say this
phillip symour hoffman was brilliant
pooro i am interested to hear what you thought of it
also it is so never going to come out here
dudes should I see Gran Torino again this weekend, my parents haven't seen it
otherwise I think Valkyrie is coming out too
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony/waltzwithbashir/
Synecdoche, NY was the best 2008 movie I saw.
Not my favorite (That honor goes to Rachel Getting Married), but the best.
It was like a fine piece of literature. Watching it was kind of like work, but intensely satisfying work. That motherfucker is going to be discussed and debated until you and I are old and gray, mark my words.
For me, personally, the pivotal scene was the recreation of the funeral. When the preacher breaks the fourth wall (As if that fucking movie had a fourth wall. Fucking thing had, bare minimum, 14 walls). It was an astoundingly brilliant monologue on its own, but in the context of the movie as a whole, I feel it was even more significant.
What's really fascinating to me, and what makes me want to watch it over and over again, are the questions raised.
For instance:
YAYA I AM OUT OF MY GODDAMN GOURD RIGHT NOW
I WENT TO THE GYM AT 1:30 IN THE MORNING JUST FOR SOMETHING TO DO THAT DIDN'T REQUIRE THINKING
SPENT ALL LAST NIGHT FUCKIN THINKING MAYBE THAT'D BE THE CURE FOR WHAT AILS
IF I TRIED JERKIN' IT, MY DICK WOULD JUST SPIT BONE MARROW
WELL SHIT I'M OUT OF IDEAS
Syndecdoche is brilliant yet confounding, like a Pynchon novel set to screen and with a few more titties
Rachel Getting Married is fucking fantastic and all you fuckers had better see it when it goes to wide release on Friday
And Slumdog Millionaire is very technically competent, but is only emotionally satisfying to people who would ever describe a piece of art as "Too depressing" and think the remark was a valid piece of criticism
Very, very good.
But as a character study, I felt it was a little too cold and analytical. It was very deep, and very insightful, don't get me wrong. But as exemplified by the way the tracking shots were always from the back, it always felt like Ram was under observation. Under a microscope. I never felt like I was inside his head, or like I empathized with him. It felt more like a documentary of an interesting dude than a genuine portrait of a fleshed out character.
After all, Raging Bull gave us the scene in the prison cell.
The Wrestler did, however, have the absolute best use of a credits song that I have ever, ever seen.
basically i need to see it again, but i agree with the preacher scene being the pivotal point
The way it was filmed and how effective that visual style was comes down to personal taste, but I felt like I got to know the guy extremely well through how realistic everything was. I guess it kind of felt like a documentary, but it showed all the aspects of him and his life, his way of thinking and his selfishness in a completely unbiased manner. It showed him for who he is, plain and simple, with no pretensions whatsoever.
But then again, sometimes I think maybe the movie was trying to have a slightly different take on the classic character study. It was trying to make a point, send a message, show the audience the big philosophical ideas it was trying to portray through the main character. The ending is so profoundly powerful, not just because of Randy's path leading up to that moment, but because it's also a broader statement on the human condition; ideas regarding purpose and such.