DVDizzy Forum

I watched The Big Lebowski last night. Good times.

This morning I finished watching Fellini's Satyricon (1969 - Italy). Try as I might, I just couldn't do this in one sitting. Now, I've recently found myself being quite the Fellini fan, but this film - taking advantage of the then-new film classification ratings system an the greater freedom it allowed directors - is incredibly self-indulgent. The episodic nature of the film is not unfamiliar to viewers of his other films, but so many of these episodes seem to involve orgies. If you accept this as an adaptation of a series of historical encounters, it makes it easier to watch. Stunning photography and some great craft, but perhaps a little too much for some - myself included at times.

So, needing to lighten the pace a little, I went for Billy Wilder's The Apartment (1960). Quite a progressive comedy for its day - with themes of adultery, suicide and the grind of daily life - it has a very "realist" perspective. It also contains almost every type of comedy you can think of. I hate to be one of those people who says 'they don't make 'em like thay anymore', but so many modern rom-coms just fail to work on as many levels as this one did.

The Nanny, the one with Bette Davis. It was decent. B+

I watched The Squid and the Whale, I didnt really like it, but I didn't really hate it. I felt they took a lot of the emotion out of the characters, in favor of being way too subtle and "indie-chic", if you will.

Most of the acting was good though.

Loomis wrote:This morning I finished watching Fellini's Satyricon (1969 - Italy). Try as I might, I just couldn't do this in one sitting. Now, I've recently found myself being quite the Fellini fan, but this film - taking advantage of the then-new film classification ratings system an the greater freedom it allowed directors - is incredibly self-indulgent. The episodic nature of the film is not unfamiliar to viewers of his other films, but so many of these episodes seem to involve orgies. If you accept this as an adaptation of a series of historical encounters, it makes it easier to watch. Stunning photography and some great craft, but perhaps a little too much for some - myself included at times.

<i>Satyricon</i> is a weird one, to be sure. We have to cut Fellini some slack because it's based on a piece of literature of which only fragments have been found. So the episodic nature is somewhat merited due to it being a (somewhat faithful) adaptation. Still, I agree with you that it's self-indulgent, which can be said to some degree of other Fellini works (as blasphemous as that may be). And it's also just really odd. I think I passed out during the middle of my lone viewing of it, though, only to waken to some odd outdoors fight or something pertaining to the protagonist's quest to reverse impotency. It's only been a little over a year since seeing it, but it's quite a blur in my mind. Probably best that way.

2 Disney live-action originals (for the first time I've seen either):

The Shaggy Dog - didn't meet my expectations, C
The Absent-Minded Professor - very entertaining but the ending was slow and disappointing, A-

X-2 - was ok

Loomis wrote:I hate to be one of those people who says 'they don't make 'em like thay anymore'

I'm not a particularly old guy, but I'm ready to say just that any day about a lot of movies.

Watched:
Cheaper by the Dozen 2
X-Men 1.5
X-Men 2
King Kong(2005)

Luke wrote:<i>Satyricon</i> is a weird one, to be sure. We have to cut Fellini some slack because it's based on a piece of literature of which only fragments have been found. So the episodic nature is somewhat merited due to it being a (somewhat faithful) adaptation. Still, I agree with you that it's self-indulgent, which can be said to some degree of other Fellini works (as blasphemous as that may be). And it's also just really odd. I think I passed out during the middle of my lone viewing of it, though, only to waken to some odd outdoors fight or something pertaining to the protagonist's quest to reverse impotency. It's only been a little over a year since seeing it, but it's quite a blur in my mind. Probably best that way.

Yup - if you accept the film as a product of its source, it is easier to forgive some of the disjointed qualities of the film. As for your comments on Fellini, I don't think they are all that blasphemous. Most directors - especially the good ones - probably have to be a little bit self-indulgent in order to 'push the envelope'. The great ones temper this with a steady hand and keeping in mind that an audience does actually have to watch the thing at the end of the day. At his best, Fellini still did that.

Anyhoo, just watched another Jacques Tati film - M. Hulot's Holiday (1953) (Viewed 26 May 2006). This was the first Mr. Hulot film in the series. I had already viewed Mon Oncle this year, and that was a fairly whimsical piece. This one is even more so. Equal parts elaborate visual gags and human observation, it is one of those films that is best viewed on a lazy Sunday afternoon when you can simply soak up the ambience. Lots of fun.

I'm trying to keep a tradition I've been making for about 5 years now. Which is when summer vacation starts, watch Recess: School's Out.

A fun underrated gem. By no means a masterpiece, but as a pretty big fan of the show since watching a advertising clip on ABC, I really liked it. The story is funny and amusing, and surprisingly, the music selections in this movie totally rock!

I also watched X-Men to get ready for "X-Men 3". Not the best comic-book adapted film ever made, but still has a lot of great action scenes and cool performances, especially Hugh Jackman as he ROCKS as Wolverine. I now want to watch the slightly superior X2: X-Men United.

Overall, both films recieve a 7/10 from me.

Last night:
<b>Happy Gilmore</b>
<b>The Jerk</b>
<b>Treasure Planet</b>

Tonight:
<b>The Big Lebowski</b> (thanks for the idea, DaveWadding)
<b>Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back</b>

Finchx0rz wrote: Tonight:
<b>The Big Lebowski</b> (thanks for the idea, DaveWadding)
<b>Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back</b>

No f**kin problem

DaveWadding wrote:

Finchx0rz wrote: Tonight:
<b>The Big Lebowski</b> (thanks for the idea, DaveWadding)
<b>Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back</b>

No f**kin problem

For fun, I'm going to watch it with the French language track on. "VOILA CE QUI ARRIVE QUAND TU ENCULES UN ETRANGER, LARRY!"

I started watching Anastasia yesterday (please no one shoot me) and I didn't really get interested so I stopped watching. I'm sure I'll give it another try sometime, maybe it was because I was preoccupied.

Lars Vermundsberget wrote:

Loomis wrote:I hate to be one of those people who says 'they don't make 'em like thay anymore'

I'm not a particularly old guy, but I'm ready to say just that any day about a lot of movies.

Heh - well, in some cases it is definitely true. Sometimes it is a stylistic thing, and modern audiences would have trouble viewing it. For a long time that is how I felt about silent films. Which is a ncie segue to the film I just watched...

The General (1927 - US) (Viewed 26 May 2006): As I said, it was a long time before I could really concentrate on a silent film. While some may dismiss me as uneducated in film, the language of a silent film is very different to what anybody born in the era of "talkies" is used to, and it does require a brain shift in certain cases. However, I suppose that could be said about so many different genres: from the ones that require you to turn your thinking caps on, to the ones that ask you to check your brain in at the door. That's why Buster Keaton is such an enduring figure. His comedy has been so influental - and copied - over the last 80 years, yet his films still retain a freshness and vitality. I was laughing out loud at many of the visual gags in this film, and they keep on coming for the 75 minute duration. The art of physical comedy seems to have been lost over the years, slowly replaced by bodily humour gags. I guess that is why a film made in 1927 and without any spoken dialogue can still produce chuckles - it IS fresh to modern audiences. This one was a library rental, but there will almost certainly be a purchase in the near future. Also, it is an interesting comparison with Jacques Tati's M. Hulot's Holiday (1953), that I watched this morning (see above). It too is a largely dialogue-free film in the style of Keaton, although his gentle sytle is very different to the frenetic pace of Keaton.

Just before watching The General, I took a squiz at A Touch of Evil (1958 - US) (Viewed 26 May 2006 - yes I had most of today off work ). I had never seen this before, but I'm told this is as close to Orson Welles' original cut of the film as possible (based on a 58 page letter he wrote to the studio). What struck me about this film was just how 'modern' it felt. Sure , bit of it were dated - fashion, figures of speech and so forth - but the frank discussion of various issues existing between Mexicans and Americans along the border towns. Welles is positively slimy as the crooked cop, and in some ways I think this is a better performance than Citizen Kane. (Big on blasphemy this week - aren't we, Luke?)

(for the first time) Disney's The Moon-Spinners. It was very entertaining, in spite of the mostly negative reviews I read - A

Well, had something of a marathon yesterday. In addition to the three I've listed, I managed to slip in The 400 Blows (1959 - France) (Viewed 26 May 2006) before retiring for the night . You know you are in for a treat when the opening shot has you audibly exclaiming "Wow". Starting with a beautiful tracking shot of the streets of Paris, François Truffaut takes us on a realistic and heartfelt journey of childhood. Despite the barriers to modern English-speaking audiences - it's in black and white, its French and it was made in the 1950s - it resonates so clearly with anybody who ever felt 'displaced' as a child. From all reports, this is a semi-autobiographical account of Truffaut's own youth, and that personal touch really shines through. Truufaut's process of "recording" the action rather that "directing" it would develop more over the years, especially in Jules et Jim (1962) a few short years later. It is easy to see the influence he had on so many others with this debut feature.

This morning I jumped forward 40 years and went all Spanish with All About My Mother (1999 - Spain) (Viewed 27 May 2006). I'm a relative newcomer to the world of Pedro Almodóvar, and while soemthing like Talk To Her had more of an impact on me, I'm continually impressed with his storytelling. In particular, I like the way that you never quite know where this story is headed. It completely changes pace halfway through the first act, and keeps you on your toes for the brief 97 minutes it runs.

I'm in the middle of Welcome to Mooseport. Ray Ramano is super funny in this, as is Gene Hackman!

I watched Heidi with Shirley Temple today. I had forgotten how good that movie was.