Nov 23, 2014

Well, this is gonna take some getting use to...

These black friday blu rays tho

Xavier Dolan's Mommy

Bennett Miller's Foxcatcher

Jessica Chastain's accent in A Most Violent Year

 

Nov 23, 2014

Not gonna lie, I was more disappointed about losing the film discussion section than I was the rest of the site.

 

Nov 23, 2014

at least the jersey shore thread survived

 

Nov 23, 2014

saw interstellar and whiplash the other day. Thoughts on Interstellar: https://aestheticsofthemind.wordpress.com/2014/11/20/interstellar-nolan-2014/

Really impressed by Whiplash. It's up there with my favourites of the year.

(Real Hip Hop here, btw.)

 

Nov 23, 2014

Just got home from seeing Mockingjay with my girlfriend. It was clearly just a build up for the next one, but I enjoyed it still. 6.5/10

Saw Gone Girl last week as well, what an fantastic movie... First movie that I've actually enjoyed seeing Ben Affleck in, in a long time. 8.5/10.

 

Nov 23, 2014

Though I kinda disagree on Whiplash, I strongly agree with your review on Interstellar, particularly your point on Nolan gleaning over key moments. Along with his penchant for awkward exposition, Nolan's slavish devotion to narrative might be his biggest weakness as a filmmaker. By constantly driving from one major plot point to the next, he rarely gives his films room to breathe, and the result, like The Dark Knight Rises, can feel stifling and overstuffed.

Nolan is certainly able to craft moments of genuine moviegoing awe, especially in IMAX (the ship dwarfed by Saturn's rings, the giant wave, the docking sequence, etc.), but he gives the viewer little time to take it all in (visually, intellectually, or otherwise) by hinging it all on incessantly moving the narrative forward.

One of the film's stronger moments is when McConaughey says goodbye to his daughter and, as he drives away, Nolan overlays the countdown to launch, as if to suggest that leaving the planet is a mere afterthought to leaving his children. It's a moment Nolan conveys not through exposition, but simply through visuals and editing.

 

Nov 23, 2014

Did you get to see Foxcatcher? I was somewhat mixed tbh. Tatum and Ruffalo are terrific (Carrell is good too but perhaps overly mannered; his makeup also does him no favors). I admired the film's patience and its slow burn style, but I'm not sure if the extended set up offers much in terms of psychological insight. With flags constantly in the background and on-the-nose dialogue, Miller also lays on the America metaphors too thick.

Though it seems to be getting only an LA release in December, I did find out Mommy is playing once in NY next week, but I can't make it

While the board was down, I also saw Force Majeure which I thought was excellent. One of my top films of the year so far.

 

Nov 23, 2014

no i have not, but @Vahn had warned me you felt that way

 

Nov 23, 2014

I think Carrell is gonna be unfairly singled out as the highlight, but Tatum and Ruffalo just blew me away. Not to say Carrell was bad, he was definitely very good, but you could tell he was "acting" more than the others. And yeah, the makeup really didn't help any.

 

Nov 24, 2014

Ruffalo's the highlight for me. @Twan, totally feel you on the countdown/leaving sequence. That was definitely a high point, and perfectly transitioned to the next act. What did you think of Whiplash? I was a bit at odds at first, but I really liked the performances and the music. I didn't think as highly of it after watching, but the atmosphere lingered very strongly with me, and that's a major factor in my film reception.

 

Nov 24, 2014

Under The Skin was f---ing unreal

 

Nov 24, 2014

Didn't realize how much I counted on this thread for movie news. Glad it's back.

 

Nov 24, 2014

Some films i've seen recently

The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014) 6/10
The Crying Game 7/10 I saw a lot of reviews praising this, i find it overrated.
Kairo 7/10. I was somehow dissapointed with this, expected much more, i feel like it could've been executed better
Ugetsu monogatari 8.5/10
Wild At Heart 7/10
Floating Clouds (Mikio Naruse, 1955) 6/10
A Most Wanted Man (2014) 7.5/10
Gone With The Wind 9/10. Great film, but i think the book is slightly better
The Man Who Knew Too Much (HIthcock, 1956)
Ordet (Carl Th. Dreyer) 8.5/10

Regarding Nolan, i think he is so ambitious that he wants to do several things at the same time, he is constantly trying to amaze/shock viewers, thats not bad but if he can control that aspect better he could make something classic. Interstellar will get here in december, i hope, i'll check that out as soon as i can.

Good To see most of the SL members are here.

 

Nov 24, 2014

I'm back as well!

 

Nov 24, 2014

Sweet, seems like most everybody is back. Who's still missing?

 

Nov 24, 2014

hi friends, it's DVD screener leak season :-]

 

Nov 24, 2014

ik



Magic in the Moonlight leaked and my body is ready for disappoint

 

Nov 24, 2014

I just want to check in to say that Jauja is an instant hood klassik.

 

Nov 24, 2014

I wasn't a fan at all lol. Everything about it didn't sit well with me, from J.K. Simmons' turtleneck to Miles Teller's general screen presence. It's suitably intense and compelling for the most part, but nothing about its characters nor its portrayal of single-minded artistic pursuit felt novel or even interesting to me. Additionally, its tacit endorsement of bullying also bothered me.

Charliwork, irbis?

On another note, I just got back from A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night. I'm not sure if Amirpour had enough story or even ideas here to hinge her considerable filmmaking talents on, but her feature debut is still quite striking and impressive. Calling to mind at times Lynch, Leone and Jarmusch, Amirpour's film feels fresh while clearly wearing its influences on its sleeve. Stylish as all h---, entertaining and strikingly confident, it's definitely one to check out.

 

Nov 25, 2014

Hey, guys.
I missed this place. Finally found my way here through SL reddit.

@Twan I love Force Majeure. Probably top 5 for me this year. Under the Skin is still my favourite and The Double, Winter Sleep, Mommy aren't that behind.

I also watched Interstellar. I like the movie alright but I really, really hope Nolan considers something smaller in scale next. The bigger they try to go, the less I start to care about their movies. Same goes for Tarantino as well and probably all the directors that get a big blockbuster after one or two indies. Nolan's movie is great at times, even brilliant in a few places. The thing is, it feels too loaded. Interstellar at least felt human thanks to some really strong performances (Matthew McConaughey and Jessica Chastain, especially). The Dark Knight Rises didn't even had that. It's probably my least favourite Nolan film, though I've yet to see Following. Anyways, I'll watch Interstellar on BluRay before I somewhat make up my mind.

Frank was a blast to watch. Both hilarious and heartbreaking. Didn't know Fassbender had something like this in him. Though it's not the most original, or even affecting ending of the year, I really love how this ended. I keep coming back to it, I even caught myself murmuring the I Love Your Wall song a couple times.

I watched Once Upon A Time in Anatolia for the third time. With my parents. They keep surprising me, to be honest. Plus I read a book about how the movie came to be. From the conception to wrapping up the shooting. Still my favourite Nuri Bilge Ceylan movie.

This Week:
Life Itself - 6,5/10
Frank - 8/10
Guardians of the Galaxy - 8/10
Web Junkie - 5,5/10
Lucy - 6/10

Lucy is interesting but generally a failure. But it has Scarlet Johansson, so it's still watchable. Plus it actually looks interesting and show promise at times. Could've been glorious though. Shame.

Web Junkie's subject is interesting but at 75 minutes, it still doesn't have enough substance in it. Maybe a 40 minute episode, I don't know.