Serious Movie Discussion

[sodapopinski]

Upon recommendations in this thread, I got the first disc of Generation Kill. It was ok, but not anywhere near Band of Brothers greatness. I'd rate the first three episodes as 8/10. Maybe it picks up intensity and becomes a great mini-series, but I'm not in any rush to watch the rest of them, tbh. I've got True Blood on my Netflix queue (I've never seen it before) and I'm more interested in watching it instead.

After reading the Wikipedia page of Paths of Glory, I understand why the final scene was included. Kubrick ended up marrying the woman. Anyway, this film came under a lot of criticism as being anti-war, but I honestly didn't feel that way after watching it. Kubrick said it was anti-authoritarian ignorance, which perfectly describes how I feel about the film.

[Magooglie]

Originally Posted by hugekent

I watched a fair few movies recently:

Lost in Translation- Not the most exciting movie you'll ever see, but it's easy to watch. It's basically about two very different people's loneliness in a foreign land. Bill Murray is excellent and Scarlet Johansson was surprisingly good, in what I later realised was the first time I've ever watched a movie with her.

The Royal Tenenbaums- I really liked this one. Going in, I knew it wasn't a straight comedy, but it was much more dramatic than I anticipated. Some of the scenes reminded me of Arrested Development with the quick cuts and narration, and a few were hilarious. But what I really liked was the dramatic parts. An old man struggling for forgiveness, 3 children struggling with depression and a lonely little boy who wanted to be part of the family. I'm really looking forward to seeing Rushmore and Bottle Rocket after this.

Raising Arizona- This was a surprise to me. I really didn't know what to expect but it was very enjoyable with the usual Coen trademarks, significantly symbolism, very evident. I loved the fantasy-type ending, worked well for me.

Tenenbaums is my fave Wes Anderson movie.. Plus people in real life always emulate it. It was great when Paul Filho started re-enacting the tennis breakdown scene while fighting Sonnen.

[Will Jacobs]

I watched Adaptation for the second time yesterday. I had not seen the movie since 2002 so I was interested to see how I'd feel about it the second time around. I still felt that it was a very strange movie but I've always felt that it was very, very smart and I always appreciate that.

The plot is unique and the characters are all well-developed and interesting and Chris Cooper and Marilyn Streep give underrated performances, while Nicholas Cage's performance deserves all of the praise it got. I can see giving this movie a perfect score, but I still feel it's lacking the few big laughs it could have had and is a little too awkward at times for its own good.

9/10

[Bullitt68]

Originally Posted by sodapopinski

Other than it being a war movie, I didn't know what to expect before watching Paths of Glory. I thought it was about WWII, but instead, it's about the French side of WWI. This is one of the best war movies that I've ever seen, and probably my favorite Kubrick movie. Excellent acting, superb directing, a great storyline, and an unforgettable finish. It's everything you could want from a movie. My only complaint is that the very last scene seemed irrelevant, as if Kubrick just wanted to throw a woman in the film. Even with that complaint, this is one movie that I highly recommend. 9.5/10.

When I look at Kubrick's evolution as a filmmaker, I consider Paths of Glory his coming out party. With that film, he arrived. Killer's Kiss and The Killing are both solid films from a director just trying to get some experience making movies, but with Paths of Glory, he really tapped into his conceptual and technical genius for the first time and made the first of numerous masterworks.

As for the final scene: Yes, the German woman did eventually become Mrs. Kubrick, but he'd never met her before and didn't think of the scene as just a way to get his wife on camera. It's much more than an irrelevant close. Truth be told, it's one of the most moving scenes I've ever seen. The sight of all of those soldiers, so absorbed in that horrendous life, witnessing---and constantly causing---death day in and day out, almost being reduced to less than human, being brought back to humanity by the song of a captured German woman. It's brilliant.

And since you enjoyed Paths of Glory so much, I'd recommend Sam Fuller's The Steel Helmet as another one that should go on your must-see list. Real tough, gritty look at war from a director who knew what war looked like and wanted what he saw and experienced to be seen and experienced by audiences.

[gogoGomi]

Originally Posted by Will Jacobs

I watched Adaptation for the second time yesterday. I had not seen the movie since 2002 so I was interested to see how I'd feel about it the second time around. I still felt that it was a very strange movie but I've always felt that it was very, very smart and I always appreciate that.

The plot is unique and the characters are all well-developed and interesting and Chris Cooper and Marilyn Streep give underrated performances, while Nicholas Cage's performance deserves all of the praise it got. I can see giving this movie a perfect score, but I still feel it's lacking the few big laughs it could have had and is a little too awkward at times for its own good.

9/10

One of of my favorites, I really love Cooper in this and Cages performance(s) is inarguably brilliant.

The following may be considered a spoiler
I love how Charlie pursues relief to his creative drought, only to find a set of guidelines or rules which should never be broken in writing a screenplay. The very rules invoked are all promptly broken in the film itself in ways youd think would be difficult to accept, yet its done with great care.

I thought Synecdoche, New York was worth a watch but nowhere near as good as Adaptation. was.

Streep is amazing in Doubt as well with PSH. Her character is about as much an opposite from her Susan Orlean as could be, two very different people and she does a great job with both. Much respect for her performances in both films.

[hugekent]

Originally Posted by Magooglie

Tenenbaums is my fave Wes Anderson movie.. Plus people in real life always emulate it. It was great when Paul Filho started re-enacting the tennis breakdown scene while fighting Sonnen.

I loved that scene. The way it's commentated is classic and Luke Wilson is good as this broken man during the whole movie.

Originally Posted by Will Jacobs

I watched Adaptation for the second time yesterday. I had not seen the movie since 2002 so I was interested to see how I'd feel about it the second time around. I still felt that it was a very strange movie but I've always felt that it was very, very smart and I always appreciate that.

The plot is unique and the characters are all well-developed and interesting and Chris Cooper and Marilyn Streep give underrated performances, while Nicholas Cage's performance deserves all of the praise it got. I can see giving this movie a perfect score, but I still feel it's lacking the few big laughs it could have had and is a little too awkward at times for its own good.

9/10

Adaptation was one of those movies where I liked it after watching it, but it wasn't until after when I really thought about it that I really rated it. Cooper was fantastic, but he did win an Academy Award so it wasn't underrated at the time.

[Three Gun Fish]

Originally Posted by gogoGomi

Streep is amazing in Doubt as well with PSH. Her character is about as much an opposite from her Susan Orlean as could be, two very different people and she does a great job with both. Much respect for her performances in both films.

DOUBT is hilarious.

"See these fingernails? I keep em long. That's okay. Because I keep them CLEAN. See that?"

Dirtball.

[punkmother]

what are your guys' thoughts on the upcoming peter jackson film, district 9?

YouTube - District 9 - Official Trailer
YouTube - 'District 9' Trailer 2 HD

[Three Gun Fish]

I want to check it out. I loved ALIEN NATION, and this seems to be the same sort of thing. I hope the aliens don't look shoehorned. The images of the spaceships have been pretty cool. Acting looks a little hokey.

[HH]

Fitch can't beat GSP.