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  #16  
Old 04-24-2019, 08:21 AM
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TrueFaith77 TrueFaith77 is offline
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Notes on Movies 2019 - Part 1

The Image Book (Jean-Luc Godard) - The greatest living filmmaker continues to extend the boundaries of cinema for inquiry into and challenge to ideological hegemony in this found-footage essayistic narrative -- essential to see for all who love cinema; essential to re-see to provide a gratifying summary, though the uncanny re-contextualizing of clips from Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar and Max Ophuls' Le plaisir remain in memory as sublime exemplars of cinema's essence where the elements of formal and moral beauty achieve liberating spectacle. Grade: A

The Legend of the Demon Cat (Chen Kaige) - Not since Sternberg! As (too many) layers of illusion and narrative peel back to reveal more wonders, to dig deeper into the hearts of its fictionalized but true-historical characters, it becomes just ravishing in its beauty and feeling--the rare film experience where sensuality evokes fidelity. Grade: A-

Sorry Angel (Christophe Honoré) - After introducing its fascinating/grating art-hound and sex-rebel characters, it ultimately achieves uncanny AIDS-era recall and catharsis starting from the moment there is a shot of Francois Truffaut's ebony gravestone to the final, devastating line of dialogue ("Learn to sully beauty"). Grade: A-

Dragged Across Concrete (S. Craig Zahler) - Thanks to an extended plot digression, Jennifer Carpenter haunts the 3-hour film; it's a new Myth of Labor, putting the exigencies of livelihood in relief to family, social inequity, and, ultimately and brutally, metaphysical evil--for her, anything (but keep a little for yourself and yours). Grade: A-

Sauvage/Wild (Camille Vidal-Naquet) - In the tradition of Renoir (especially Boudu), this film debut proves that sexual individuality, winged realism, and instinctual semiotics runs in the French blood, challenging bourgie norms with its protagonist's unflinching rough-trade travails (the French invented the "bourgeoisie" and they can dismantle it if they want to)-- even without the overt Barthes-inspired cruising Mythologies of Nolot or Morel or the mighty Techine. Grade: A-

The Kid Who Would Be King (Joe Cornish) - Those who love Harry Potter (I do not) should swoon over the fulfillment of their movie-fantasy dreams, grounded in national lore, full of ingenious and hilarious and rousing ideas/ideals--real filmmaking the likes of which Spielberg (or at least Zemeckis and Dante) used to produce because adventure is linked to a young person's social integration, plus a Lancelot who embodies the redeemed bully. Grade: B

Serenity (Steven Knight) - I remain mysteriously moved by Knight's film noir-video game genre mash-up, especially by the maturity of the moral struggle acted out by the always-good Matthew McConaughey and, in a return to form, Anne Hathaway as a blonde femme fatale, not to mention that the supporting cast provides support, indeed, as avatars of ethics. Grade: B-
__________________
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Imagine paying $1000 to hear "Don't Dream It's Over" instead of "Go Your Own Way"

Fleetwood Mac helped me through a time of heartbreak. 12 years later, they broke my heart.

Last edited by TrueFaith77; 04-25-2019 at 01:08 PM..
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  #17  
Old 04-26-2019, 04:07 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TrueFaith77 View Post
Notes on Movies 2019 - Part 1

The Image Book (Jean-Luc Godard) - The greatest living filmmaker continues to extend the boundaries of cinema for inquiry into and challenge to ideological hegemony in this found-footage essayistic narrative -- essential to see for all who love cinema; essential to re-see to provide a gratifying summary, though the uncanny re-contextualizing of clips from Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar and Max Ophuls' Le plaisir remain in memory as sublime exemplars of cinema's essence where the elements of formal and moral beauty achieve liberating spectacle. Grade: A

The Legend of the Demon Cat (Chen Kaige) - Not since Sternberg! As (too many) layers of illusion and narrative peel back to reveal more wonders, to dig deeper into the hearts of its fictionalized but true-historical characters, it becomes just ravishing in its beauty and feeling--the rare film experience where sensuality evokes fidelity. Grade: A-

Sorry Angel (Christophe Honoré) - After introducing its fascinating/grating art-hound and sex-rebel characters, it ultimately achieves uncanny AIDS-era recall and catharsis starting from the moment there is a shot of Francois Truffaut's ebony gravestone to the final, devastating line of dialogue ("Learn to sully beauty"). Grade: A-

Dragged Across Concrete (S. Craig Zahler) - Thanks to an extended plot digression, Jennifer Carpenter haunts the 3-hour film; it's a new Myth of Labor, putting the exigencies of livelihood in relief to family, social inequity, and, ultimately and brutally, metaphysical evil--for her, anything (but keep a little for yourself and yours). Grade: A-

Sauvage/Wild (Camille Vidal-Naquet) - In the tradition of Renoir (especially Boudu), this film debut proves that sexual individuality, winged realism, and instinctual semiotics runs in the French blood, challenging bourgie norms with its protagonist's unflinching rough-trade travails (the French invented the "bourgeoisie" and they can dismantle it if they want to)-- even without the overt Barthes-inspired cruising Mythologies of Nolot or Morel or the mighty Techine. Grade: A-

The Kid Who Would Be King (Joe Cornish) - Those who love Harry Potter (I do not) should swoon over the fulfillment of their movie-fantasy dreams, grounded in national lore, full of ingenious and hilarious and rousing ideas/ideals--real filmmaking the likes of which Spielberg (or at least Zemeckis and Dante) used to produce because adventure is linked to a young person's social integration, plus a Lancelot who embodies the redeemed bully. Grade: B

Serenity (Steven Knight) - I remain mysteriously moved by Knight's film noir-video game genre mash-up, especially by the maturity of the moral struggle acted out by the always-good Matthew McConaughey and, in a return to form, Anne Hathaway as a blonde femme fatale, not to mention that the supporting cast provides support, indeed, as avatars of ethics. Grade: B-
I want see the kid who would be king.
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  #18  
Old 04-27-2019, 12:13 PM
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10. Avengers: End Game, grade B = 3 hours long and takes a long time to get good but it does have a satisfying ending. Not as good as the first one. There are some good twists but it wasn’t as polished as the first one. I’ve heard people say they cried through this, not me. I found the movie funny in parts because of Thor and Guardian of the Galaxy characters but nothing touched me that much. I wish they would of tightened up the beginning. Still I liked it but didn’t love it. The last battle is very well done and saves the movie.
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  #19  
Old 05-26-2019, 04:41 PM
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11. Brightburn, grade C = this movie doesn’t have much of a beginning, and it’s the opposite of Superman. It’s a about a super villain, not superhero. Problem is is it is not very good and it’s not gory enough to be a horror movie. Reminded me of a Netflix movie. I would not watch this one again. The movie feels like an outline for a real movie.
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  #20  
Old 05-27-2019, 08:41 PM
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12. John Wick 3, grade A = Wow!!! What a surprise. The fight scenes in this movie are amazing. Better than Mission Impossible. I wasn’t expecting much and never saw the previous movies. Well I’m going to watch them now. I think this is the best movie since Avengers Infinity War. You have to see this in the theater.
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  #21  
Old 06-02-2019, 09:16 AM
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13. MA, grade C+ = it wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad either for a low budget horror movie. I thought it was decent. I really liked Octavia Spencer’s performance and there are shades of MAY and TERROR TRAIN in this movie. Go see it if you are a fan of low budget horror movies.
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  #22  
Old 06-02-2019, 07:51 PM
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14. Godzilla: King of the Monsters, grade B = Great scale, great monster fights and great special effects. Decent story. That is what I was expecting and that is what I got. I don’t understand why critics are so hard on this movie. It’s a good popcorn flick. Go see this and just have fun. Don’t think too hard.
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  #23  
Old 06-11-2019, 08:08 AM
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Aladdin! B+ (*from a pre-school mom who adores the original and saw it as a middle schooler and holds it near and dear to her heart). The best of the Disney live-actions so far that I've seen. Will Smith is a tough change as the Genie from the amazing Robin Williams, but if you can accept it early on and roll with it, he does a decent job with a different spin. The two main actors aren't amazing but they're fine and hold it together, and Jafar is different but great. The story is strong enough to hold. Guy Richie as director adds a kind of Moulin Rouge-y, surreal feel to the flick at times (I realize he didn't direct that). It's a vibrant film with a lot of the iconic animated scenes recreated to satisfaction.

Major plus: Iago (the red bird) is supremely toned down (THANK GOD there's no Gilbert Godfried) and Jasmine has a stronger story arc. I took my 4 year old. Fun flick especially if you're into Disney!
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  #24  
Old 06-13-2019, 11:01 PM
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Originally Posted by luminol View Post
Aladdin! B+ (*from a pre-school mom who adores the original and saw it as a middle schooler and holds it near and dear to her heart). The best of the Disney live-actions so far that I've seen. Will Smith is a tough change as the Genie from the amazing Robin Williams, but if you can accept it early on and roll with it, he does a decent job with a different spin. The two main actors aren't amazing but they're fine and hold it together, and Jafar is different but great. The story is strong enough to hold. Guy Richie as director adds a kind of Moulin Rouge-y, surreal feel to the flick at times (I realize he didn't direct that). It's a vibrant film with a lot of the iconic animated scenes recreated to satisfaction.

Major plus: Iago (the red bird) is supremely toned down (THANK GOD there's no Gilbert Godfried) and Jasmine has a stronger story arc. I took my 4 year old. Fun flick especially if you're into Disney!
I’m glad you liked it and I heard it was good but I refused to see this movie. I’m just not a fan of of the Disney live action stuff. At least this movie didn’t flop like Dumbo.
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  #25  
Old 06-13-2019, 11:04 PM
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15. X-Men Dark Phoenix, grade C + = great special effects, good acting but very little plot. Only see this movie if you are an X-men fan. It’s not terrible but there is just not much here. It’s too simple.

P.S so far this not a good summer for movies
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  #26  
Old 06-16-2019, 10:29 AM
luminol luminol is offline
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I’m glad you liked it and I heard it was good but I refused to see this movie. I’m just not a fan of of the Disney live action stuff. At least this movie didn’t flop like Dumbo.
I hear you. I don't like any of the live action Disney movies, either, to be honest. I went for two reasons.... 1) I have a 4 year old and it's summertime (ie: always looking for things to do!) and 2) I personally adore the original Aladdin so much I had to see what they did with it.

I went in with a lot of skepticism and it cannot compare to the original, but it was the best of the ones I've seen, not that that is saying too much (I LOATHED Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella was just ok, the Maleficent stories annoy the crap out of me *leave the original story alone!*, never saw Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, or Mary Poppins Returns, not too excited about Lion King either but will probably see it due to the 4yo... I'm probably missing some others but I'm just not a fan either)
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  #27  
Old 06-16-2019, 11:11 AM
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I’m glad you liked it and I heard it was good but I refused to see this movie. I’m just not a fan of of the Disney live action stuff. At least this movie didn’t flop like Dumbo.
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I hear you. I don't like any of the live action Disney movies, either, to be honest.

I thought The Jungle Book was incredibly good; amazing CGI and simply engrossing overall.
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  #28  
Old 06-18-2019, 12:58 AM
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I thought The Jungle Book was incredibly good; amazing CGI and simply engrossing overall.
Never saw that one either.

I decided this week to skip Men in Black and Shaft. I have no desire to see those movies and they are both getting bad word of mouth. This summer is not a good summer for movies. I’m sick of mediocre movies.
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  #29  
Old 06-18-2019, 08:15 PM
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SHADOW (Zhang Yimou): In his best film since CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER, Zhang Yimou’s new masterpiece SHADOW achieves a radical black-and-white aesthetic *in color*. Through this chromatic gambit, Zhang conveys the intensity of modern/classical Power lust and Moral annihilation, with crimson bleeding into the frame to visualize the human casualties. Establishing SHADOW as the deep-state noir of our daymares, Zhang’s innovative point-of-view shots and staging of intrigue and action would make Eisenstein, Lang, Sternberg, Hitchcock, Welles, Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Ichikawa, De Palma, and, sigh, Spielberg drop their jaws. Grade: A

DOMINO (Brian De Palma): DOMINO is Brian De Palma’s “F—— You” to #RottenTomatoes, one of many social media trends in De Palma’s cross-hairs. Through a recurring motif, he restores the Fresh Tomato to its now-perverted essence. To paraphrase Godard: Tomato is “red.” Did anyone else clock the first tomato in De Palma’s DOMINO? It imbues the fruit, the ripe red, with connotations of desire and guilt that motivates—and connects—the film’s expressionist panoply of law enforcers, vigilante revengers, and global terrorism actors. The rogues gallery of #FakeNews hacks and cyber-climbers aggregated by Rotten Tomatoes commits a form of cultural terrorism by dismissing De Palma’s vitality and reducing criticism and cinema to produce. The middle finger is mightier than the thumb. Much to say. But nobody is paying me to say it. Example: Ever since Verhoeven’s BLACK BOOK (and then her daring portrayal in RACE), I have wanted De Palma to cast Carice van Houten. She imbues the role here with complex feeling, disturbing the spectator’s response to her capacity for action. She aims her righteous right-leg kicks for the testes (“Therapy,” she jokes) and her gun for single-minded vengeance. With Adjani-like imminence, she always registers the moral implications, even when crossing paths with the woman she betrayed. It’s a beautiful film—now available on iTunes. Grade: A


THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN (Farhad Safinia): THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN, though not perfect, builds to a heart-swelling middle section and finally surprising reckonings of character. It features Sean Penn’s first transcendent performance since I AM SAM, beautifully in sync with co-star Mel Gibson, testifying to the dignity of man and the word and the Word. If only APOCALYPTO screenwriter and first-time director Farhad Safinia commandeered cinematic language—or rumored studio meddling uncannily reflected in the film’s plot—as felicitously as he does the English language. This is the most significant application of the lexicon since AKEELAH AND THE BEE. Even so, the most impactful use of the film’s cross-cutting structure occurs in the montage that dramatizes two romantic relationships on different trajectories along the course of a common endeavor: the men (and women) behind the Oxford Dictionary. Yet, when Penn and Gibson’s characters finally meet, they are filmed such that their wordplay—their miraculous kinship—seems to illuminate them both from within. Penn caresses the mirror image of his beard on Gibson’s face before exposing the shame of his shackles. Just imagine the masterpiece—each image and edit conveying the richness of associations the characters discover in words—that co-screenwriter John Boorman or Steven Spielberg, Mike Leigh, Terence Davies, or even Mel Gibson could have made of this script and cast (Natalie Dormer, Jennifer Ehle, Eddie Marsan). Then release yourself of this fancy. For Safinia, this is a labor of “diligence” and “love.” “If love ... then what?” It’s not a riddle. The ultimate answer holds within in it the essence of redemption. From this, the Oxford Dictionary was born. —The film happily arrives to illustrate the concepts Peter Kreeft introduces while promoting his book of Tolkien, Lewis, Graham dialogues in the YouTube interview I’ve been posting on Facebook. The brain is not the same as mind. The mind can contain within it both the sky and itself. To give the gift of language is to give the beloved the sky. I think J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis would applaud like leaves in the wind. Grade: B+
__________________
"They love each other so much, they think they hate each other."

Imagine paying $1000 to hear "Don't Dream It's Over" instead of "Go Your Own Way"

Fleetwood Mac helped me through a time of heartbreak. 12 years later, they broke my heart.
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  #30  
Old 06-19-2019, 02:27 AM
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Jondalar Jondalar is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TrueFaith77 View Post
SHADOW (Zhang Yimou): In his best film since CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER, Zhang Yimou’s new masterpiece SHADOW achieves a radical black-and-white aesthetic *in color*. Through this chromatic gambit, Zhang conveys the intensity of modern/classical Power lust and Moral annihilation, with crimson bleeding into the frame to visualize the human casualties. Establishing SHADOW as the deep-state noir of our daymares, Zhang’s innovative point-of-view shots and staging of intrigue and action would make Eisenstein, Lang, Sternberg, Hitchcock, Welles, Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Ichikawa, De Palma, and, sigh, Spielberg drop their jaws. Grade: A

DOMINO (Brian De Palma): DOMINO is Brian De Palma’s “F—— You” to #RottenTomatoes, one of many social media trends in De Palma’s cross-hairs. Through a recurring motif, he restores the Fresh Tomato to its now-perverted essence. To paraphrase Godard: Tomato is “red.” Did anyone else clock the first tomato in De Palma’s DOMINO? It imbues the fruit, the ripe red, with connotations of desire and guilt that motivates—and connects—the film’s expressionist panoply of law enforcers, vigilante revengers, and global terrorism actors. The rogues gallery of #FakeNews hacks and cyber-climbers aggregated by Rotten Tomatoes commits a form of cultural terrorism by dismissing De Palma’s vitality and reducing criticism and cinema to produce. The middle finger is mightier than the thumb. Much to say. But nobody is paying me to say it. Example: Ever since Verhoeven’s BLACK BOOK (and then her daring portrayal in RACE), I have wanted De Palma to cast Carice van Houten. She imbues the role here with complex feeling, disturbing the spectator’s response to her capacity for action. She aims her righteous right-leg kicks for the testes (“Therapy,” she jokes) and her gun for single-minded vengeance. With Adjani-like imminence, she always registers the moral implications, even when crossing paths with the woman she betrayed. It’s a beautiful film—now available on iTunes. Grade: A


THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN (Farhad Safinia): THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN, though not perfect, builds to a heart-swelling middle section and finally surprising reckonings of character. It features Sean Penn’s first transcendent performance since I AM SAM, beautifully in sync with co-star Mel Gibson, testifying to the dignity of man and the word and the Word. If only APOCALYPTO screenwriter and first-time director Farhad Safinia commandeered cinematic language—or rumored studio meddling uncannily reflected in the film’s plot—as felicitously as he does the English language. This is the most significant application of the lexicon since AKEELAH AND THE BEE. Even so, the most impactful use of the film’s cross-cutting structure occurs in the montage that dramatizes two romantic relationships on different trajectories along the course of a common endeavor: the men (and women) behind the Oxford Dictionary. Yet, when Penn and Gibson’s characters finally meet, they are filmed such that their wordplay—their miraculous kinship—seems to illuminate them both from within. Penn caresses the mirror image of his beard on Gibson’s face before exposing the shame of his shackles. Just imagine the masterpiece—each image and edit conveying the richness of associations the characters discover in words—that co-screenwriter John Boorman or Steven Spielberg, Mike Leigh, Terence Davies, or even Mel Gibson could have made of this script and cast (Natalie Dormer, Jennifer Ehle, Eddie Marsan). Then release yourself of this fancy. For Safinia, this is a labor of “diligence” and “love.” “If love ... then what?” It’s not a riddle. The ultimate answer holds within in it the essence of redemption. From this, the Oxford Dictionary was born. —The film happily arrives to illustrate the concepts Peter Kreeft introduces while promoting his book of Tolkien, Lewis, Graham dialogues in the YouTube interview I’ve been posting on Facebook. The brain is not the same as mind. The mind can contain within it both the sky and itself. To give the gift of language is to give the beloved the sky. I think J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis would applaud like leaves in the wind. Grade: B+
I definitely want to see Domino and the Professor. Love Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto. Movie got ignored simply because people didn’t like Mel. Thank u.
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