I never really bothered to comment in this thread. Its to many pages to read through... But you gave me a opportunity to present my self in this mega thread.
Glengarry Glen Ross is a pure 10 out of 10 for me. I have seen this movie many times, and every time I get the same impression as I did the last time I saw it. The acting. Its brilliant.
I can't believe you think this is an average movie. Before I start arguing with you, I would like to know what movies you rate as top notch.
He thought it was too arch. Too exaggerated. By the same token, Will finds ELEPHANT's characters too shallow. Unrealistic.
Or it might be worth it to say the suspension of disbelief was compromised.
I like to think we all judge films kinda sorta on individual merits. Case by case basis. If not individually, at least by genre. You wouldn't judge KUNG FU HUSTLE the same way you would DANCES WITH WOLVES -- well, I wouldn't.
For me, in order to appreciate a film I have to grasp what it intends, or where the good stuff is. I can appreciate when people say GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS is too fakey. I used to think that all the time about David Mamet's strange dialogue and cadence. It was only until I got the poetry of his rhythm and the impressionistic style of the words did I begin to realize a new dimension to Mamet-speak. Like music with fists. Chin music.
There's a lot detracting from the film. Like how in the shit are we supposed to believe dudes are going to make sales in the middle of rainy fucking night? It FEELS like a play. Wooden. The lighting is poor. The characters pretty despicable.
But the force by which GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS chugs along is magnificent. The dialogue stabs your ears. The tempo and anxiety rise and fall as they should in all good plots.
maybe the most posted vid on this thread
next to "ANYBODY SEEN RITCHIE??"
But really, really what we're talking about is Baldwin's speech. How many times does a monologue tell a story like that? So perfect.
__________________
Shit toast from a shit toaster.
Wow. First off, I found 2 people in this thread that actually liked it. I barely got a response to it,
Ahem ahem...
I loved Glengarry Glenn Ross. I wasn't influenced by the current popular opinion about the film because I saw it back in 1992 and ranked it among my favorite movies of that year among A Few Good Men, A League of their Own, The Crying Game, Bob Roberts, The Last of the Mohicans, Reservoir Dogs, Sneakers, and many more (1992 was a great year in movies).
To further illustrate how I wasn't influenced by anyone's opinions, I saw the movie back in 1992 not knowing what the movie was about. The story was simple but the superb acting and dialogue was very engaging. I loved the way they threw around profanity like it was machine gun fire.
It was a delight to see Alec Baldwin's ball-busting performance in contrast to his other roles in Beetlejuice and Red October. Baldwin's appearance might have been short but his office monologue became an instant classic and subject to imitations (ahem, Boiler Room).
One of my joys in the film was watching actors I loved play characters that were different from their past roles. Al Pacino, who was in the comeback trail after Sea of Love and the Godfather III, played the slick top salesman. Ed Harris, who I loved in the Abyss and State of Grace, played the desperate and volatile salesman. I've always been a fan of Kevin Spacey ever since his Mel Profit potrayal in Wiseguy. I loved how Spacey's office manager character was subjected to verbal abuse by the salesmen in the beginning and in the near end but gains the upper hand at the very end. Only knew Alan Arkin from Edward Scissorhands and the Rocketeer but I still liked his whiny drone-like salesman. Jack Lemmon's desperate over-the-hill salesman is a nice departure from his old roles, he probably gave the best performance of all the cast (the unsuccessful salesman Gil from the Simpsons is a spoof of Lemmon's character).
I loved the small details from their subtle facial expressions to the characters who unconsciously cannot turn off their salesmanship when talking to each other thereby making their relationships with each other artificial. Although the plot is simple, I loved the small twist and turns at the end where I thought everything was going to be okay for Jack Lemmon's character who bragged about a sale he closed.
But I do understand if not a lot of people will like this movie. It's not for everybody. One of the reasons is probably is the scope of the film. That's because it was based on David Mamet's play of the same name.
I think it's underrated, personally. I've mostly heard negative things about it (I.E. that it's melodramatic, that it only wants to depress you, that it provides no solution, and so on), and very few positives about it. In fact, of all the people that I know that have seen it, I only know one person who considers it a great movie.
Honestly, I think people shouldn't seen it as a movie about drugs. I saw it as more as the pursuit of happiness, which was the true cause of their demise. I mean, obviously drugs made it a lot worse, but the fact they were trying so hard to be happy was what ultimately led to them being completely opposite. The whole idea seems to be questioning whether happiness is worth pursuing, and ultimately whether life is worth living. The fact that these characters, like many people, would of been better never being born is much more depressing to me than an old women going crazy and Jennifer Connelly participating in a degrading orgy. Some people say the movie emphasizes how important our choices in life are, I think it's the opposite. The movie shows how little control we have over our own life, as we obsess over happiness and its impossible pursuit.
My thoughts exactly.
The whole "pursuit of happiness" aspect is what made this movie shine for me. It's this whole "pursuit of happiness" that made the characters' downfall even more depressing. It was evident throughout the film. Burstyn's dream about making it on TV with her son and Leto's dream about Connelly at the pier were just short depictions of the small slice of happiness that they desire. Yet, they achieve partly/mostly due to their drug addictions.
Requiem For a Dream is something that was definitely moving.
There was some discussion about The Mongol a while back. I loved it. Much better than other recent historical-war films. I can't wait for the second and third installments.
Bunch of assholes doing asshole shit (lack of sympathetic character).
With Mystic River, I can see this, but with Gone Baby Gone, like you said, you had a sympathetic character, and for the upcoming Shutter Island, you've got another sympathetic character.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Three Gun Fish
you're supposed to walk away from the movie with his dilemma. It was oversimplistic and dissatisfying.
I did walk away with his dilemma, and I thought it was very well-done and very satisfying.
What I didn't like was Casey Affleck in the part. Still haven't warmed up to him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by edco76
beside we have a sorta trade already with Meet John Doe/The Night of the Hunter don't we?
I was planning on watching Meet John Doe but I didn't know we were doing it as a trade off.
If we are, that's fine by me. Remind me about a Changeling trade off after this one, because I'll probably forget.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pipinowns
Thinking about checking out Elephant tomorrow morning. Good idea or no?
I guess I'll be the only one in here that'll tell you it's a good idea. I can't match Will's vehement dislike with vehement admiration, but I did think it was a very good film.
What Will disliked in the shallow characters and the oversimplified story, I liked in its quickness, its directness, its immediacy, and its extremely visceral quality.
The editing is also very good. What could've just been an insignificant experimentation in overlapping editing served the story well and became a great narrative tool.
Quote:
Originally Posted by prod2821
I'm watcing Fear right now and William Peterson is da best
+1. I love the Straw Dogs ending.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Francis Rossi
I try not to get dragged into things like this though, as it makes the place look bad.
The thread is called serious movie discussion.
I like a good scrap every now and then.
__________________
CLASSIC FILM 101: www.sherdog.net/forums/f48/classic-film-index-894553/
"I think it's an act of self-robbery to watch films today without understanding where film has come from."
Invention of Lying
A few pages back I'd reviewed Surrogates. In that review I mentioned that they tried to explore the idea, but either didn't have smart enough people in the room or didn't give them enough time to find the edges of the concept. Ricky Gervais was in that room for this movie. Ricky is brilliant. This interesting premise was explore positively phenomenally. There were subtle jokes, bold faced jokes, happiness, sorrow, all of them well using the film's premise. Many of the bit parts were populated by comedians I like, too. The interactions between the liar and the rest of the world were great, too. I definitely recommend, but I will say that it isn't happy all the way through and the only thing keeping this movie from getting a 9 (which it nearly earns) is that the third act drags a bit. That portion is still brilliant, it just doesn't quite hold up the same blend of funny/serious that happens prior to it. By the end though, it's very satisfying. 8/10
__________________
Wishing/hoping for a speedy/complete recovery for Mrs ICU.
So sacrifice yourself and let me have what's left.
Very reminiscent of Pulp Fiction. The only clear difference is that I.B. is set in WWII. This film was such a treat and was such a blast to watch. Once Chapter 1 passed, I knew I was in for a great movie. Each and every chapter had something to rave about. The movie was at times hilarious, intense, and dramatic, but overall it was entertaining as hell. And of course, the dialogue was top-notch, something that we should all expect from Q.T. Another knockout from Taratino
9/10
Taken
If anyone can convince/remind me of a better action movie to come out last year, please tell me, otherwise, Taken was the best action movie last year. It was all anyone can ask for from an action flick. It had a simple, yet great, straight-forward plot, a hero to cheer on, and most importantly, excellent action sequences.
8/10
The Castle of Cagliostro
I believe this movie was suggested to me by Three Gun Fish and I must thank him for it. This ended up being my 2nd favorite Miyazaki film behind Spirited Away. It was just an absolute blast to watch from beginning to end, I haven't had such fun in watching a film since Inglorious Basterds. Basically a master thief, along with a gunslinger and a skilled samurai (used for comedic purposes) plan to steal a bride-to-be from marrying an evil, rich counterfeiter while being chased by an Interpol agent and venturing through the heavily-guarded labyrinth that is the castle.
8.5-9/10
Bullitt
Had to see this movie simply because of a certain someone named after it. It was really solid film, but I felt that it might have been a little dated in comparison to other detective flicks, but then again, it DID take place back then, so who am I to complain. What I felt was great about this film was the realism. It was obvious that it paid attention to the realistic details yet was able to maintain a unique and exciting plot. McQueen as great in playing Det. Bullitt.
