DVDizzy Forum

Lazario wrote:About the so-called sequels... approach Mother of Tears with caution. It couldn't be less like Suspiria. In fact, it feels a lot more like The Omen but with a female protagonist. Or... a Fulci movie.

Oh, ok, thanks for the heads up! So, it's not quite as refined as "Suspiria", but more in-your-face type of horror?

jpanimation wrote:I second that. It really shows what hard work and determination can do in the face of adversity, basically a rags to riches story and the ultimate champion for capitalism.

That's funny, I see it completely the opposite way. I noticed how it shows that a man can work real hard and do everything he's supposed to do and still not being able to make it, and how he sinks deeper and deeper, despite his attempts to get a better life. Every attempt seems to be followed by more trouble and more misery; as if the harder you work, the less you get rewarded.

In the end, he finally manages to find a job and later even start his own company. Yes, this is still a Hollywood film and they don't do unhappy endings. But those five minutes of happiness couldn't erase the two hours of misery that came before it. There's one scene that I find very telling: a big sportscar, filled with young rich kids laughing, races by, while at the very same time in the background we see an enormous long line of poor people waiting for a place in the shelter. I think that's the core of the film.

It's also ironic how he eventually goes to work as a stock broker in a large Wall Street firm, which is exactly the kind of firm that played an important role in the collapse of the financial system in '08. He's going to work for the symbol of capitalism, the very system that created the poor circumstances he used to live in.

It's a good film, but a feel-good film it's not.

Mooky wrote:

Lazario wrote:About the so-called sequels... approach Mother of Tears with caution. It couldn't be less like Suspiria. In fact, it feels a lot more like The Omen but with a female protagonist. Or... a Fulci movie.

Oh, ok, thanks for the heads up! So, it's not quite as refined as "Suspiria", but more in-your-face type of horror?

Yes to the first part... Sorta to the 2nd. It's not as artistic as Suspiria or Inferno. But it's not exactly in-your-face. Whatever extremeness is in it, you'll be numb to it before it comes up. It's more dull and museum-like. While we know Suspiria was visually wild and really spectacular. Mother of Tears tries to be tragic and epic. I can't stress the word 'dull' enough. Inferno is also radically different. Other than the widescreen being filmed in 1.85:1 instead of 2.35:1, the colors are still there but the music is opera and very classical. Not wild and experimental like Goblin's score for Suspiria.

It's certainly not a movie, but I'm watching "Broadway: The American Musical" for the first time since August, and I just realized I confused the clips of "42nd Street" with "Chicago" (must have been Jerry Orbach). No wonder I was so confused watching the 2002 movie version of "Chicago", even though I loved it.

Watched Beverly Hills Cop Saturday night. I thought it was a pretty decent action-comedy.

The Man of la Mancha - So, we just finished reading Don Quixote in my Spanish class, so we celebrated by watching this musical. Very different from the book, I must say, but it was very good. There was some snickering during Sancho's song about how he really, really, likes Don Quixote. Also, some of Aldonza's lines got a bunch of laughs. But there wasn't a dry eye in the room when she came to don Quixote's deathbed and reprised "Dulcinea." I liked it alot. The actor who played Sancho had a very familar voice, but I can't think of why... Oh well.

Margos wrote:The actor who played Sancho had a very familar voice, but I can't think of why... Oh well.

www.imdb.com is your friend!

At five in the afternoon (2003)

This film, produced in Iran, tells about the life of a young woman in post-invasion Afghanistan. She lives with her sister-in-law (who's a widow who can't feed her child) and her father, a very orthodox muslim. Every day he takes her to a Qu'ran school, but she secretly sneaks out, throws of her burqua and starts wearing pumps as she goes to a secular school. There, she starts dreaming about becoming the first female president of Afghanistan.

Although she always remains optimistic, it's hard for the viewer to do so as well. She and (what's left of) her family have to live in the ruïns of Kabul. Their house was bombarded and is in shackles. Worst of all, her father wants to move out of the capital because he thinks it's getting too sinful (because women start to unveil their faces, and people are palying music) and he drags the two women along with them.

I recommend this film to everybody who wants to get an understanding of Afghanistan that is deeper than the superficial reports in the tv news.

Aladdin-the sound is not as big as TLK, and I like that. Its very funny and nice as it ever was.

Bridge To Terabithia-still very good and imaginative. Leslie's death still gets me

Goliath wrote:

Margos wrote:The actor who played Sancho had a very familar voice, but I can't think of why... Oh well.

www.imdb.com is your friend!

Thanks for that! Turns out I've never heard of him. But the guy who played the head muleteer, Pedro, was Brian Blessed!

(*Imitates gun sound* Clayton!)

It happened one night (1934)

I still can't believe this film is actually 76 years old! A person's whole life is between the day this film was released and the day I watched it (today, for the second time). And yet, it's fresh, lively, funny and exciting. With a few minor adjustments in story and pacing, they could make this film today.

I just love this film. I love the characters, the humor, the chemistry between Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert and their excellent acting work. Remember this film is 76 years old and not a single moment of acting feels dated or old-fashioned. Take that scene in the cabin when they're pretending to be married to fool two detectives: that's just comedy gold and so well-played. Even when she has no lines and just has to watch Gable speak his parts, Colbert is acting with her face in a way I believe was only 'invented' decades later. It makes her character all the more sympathetic.

The only thing I missed was a kiss between the two at the end. Other than that, I'd say this is still the best 'rom-com' of all time.

Alice Adams- One of my favorite Kate performances... Maybe because it's so un-Kate. I just love it!

The Great Mouse Detective- Pretty good, not one of my absolute favourite DAC's, but a good one, nonetheless.

So my mentor and I were having a discussion about how everyone treats animation as a kids medium and how we never see any serious or adult oriented movies (you know, outside anime). During the discussion, he suggested I see two Martin Rosen films, coincidently both staring John Hurt. Well, that was over a year ago and I just now got around to watching them. I have to say, I wish we would see more films like this, utilizing the animation medium, as it was never meant to cater strictly to children, but offer a new way to present a story (whatever that may be) while lending itself to artistic direction.

Watership Down (1978) 7/10 - an interesting story that sort-of lost my interest towards the end. Basically a tale of rabbits' survival between burrows. The movie tries to keeps things real, with the way the rabbits act and look and it works pretty well (besides the talking, of course). The animation isn't the greatest but not bad. The voice acting was a little sub-par too. One thing it did really well was to create a sense of peril. The whole atmosphere of the movie is just so that you never feel that they were truly safe (pretty much like it is in real life). I appreciated this movie as it never felt the need to inject dumb jokes or comic relief or talk down to the audience (well, maybe the Russian bird). I was entertained and glad it just kept it real til the end.

I particularly felt for these rabbits and their plight. When still a puppy, my rottweiler found a rabbit's nest between two fences (made out of fallen pine needles) and dug out the baby rabbits while the parents were gone. She killed them while wagging her tail, incapable of understanding death and what she just did, thinking it was all fun. She didn't purposely hurt them as once we took the babies out of her mouth, we saw they didn't have bit marks but scratch marks from the digging (most likely what killed them). The poor babies weren't even old enough to open their eyes yet. Not sure why I mention this but it made the movie all the more real for me.

The Plague Dogs (1982) 7/10 - this movie just depressed the hell out of me. I guess it had a happy ending but the whole concept is depressing. As a dog lover (I've got 3) and someone who wrote a report in high-school on animal testing (in particular, vivisection), the whole thing was very unsettling. The story deals with the survival of two escaped laboratory dogs, both expected of carrying the bubonic plague, as they're hunted down. This movie once again strives for realism and achieves it. The animals and humans are drawn realistically and the movement is almost of that of rotoscoping. The animation ranges from good to terrible, and the voice acting is just alright. I don't think you get invested in these characters (dogs) as much as you did with the rabbits in Watership Down, as they never really display personality, as much as they do their afflicting problems (caused by the experiments). Beyond that, it's a pretty good movie. I honestly went through the entire movie not knowing what would happen next. It kept me on the edge of my seat as I feared for these dogs lives. I like how we're delivered the story bits through phone calls and conversations between cut/transitions. No obligatory characters to explain what's going on, as the audience is treated like adults, and these poor dogs are as lost and confused as any real dog would be. The direction was tight throughout with some truly suspenseful moments. I was surprised to find out during the credits that Brad Bird animated on this movie, right after The Fox and the Hound.

I must warn people (parents in particular) that The Plague Dogs is not a movie to show children, as it not only features violence, but the subject matter is not appropriate for children. Watership Down, while featuring violence and dealing with death, may be a little easier for kids to take in. Use your best judgment.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)- 7.5/10
I actually prefer this one to the second. I don't know why, but this one always sticks in my head. Of course, it can't live up to the original, but it is a worthy follow up. I do agree that there are lots of things going on at once, but I was able to enjoy the film nevertheless. But one thing could make sense for me: Will wouldn't always have to be away from Elizabeth. He could occasionally come back standing in a bucket (like Davy Jones did when they parlayed at the beach). Or a bathtub.

jpanimation wrote:So my mentor and I were having a discussion about how everyone treats animation as a kids medium and how we never see any serious or adult oriented movies (you know, outside anime).

Other animated films targeted to adults are Perspolis (2007) and Waltz with Bashir (2008). The latter was nominated for an Oscar and for two BAFTA Awards and won a César and Golden Globe. The former was nominated for an Oscar, two BAFTA Awards and the Golden Palm at Cannes and won the jury prize at Cannes and a César.

Goliath wrote:Other animated films targeted to adults are Perspolis (2007) and Waltz with Bashir (2008). The latter was nominated for an Oscar and for two BAFTA Awards and won a César and Golden Globe. The former was nominated for an Oscar, two BAFTA Awards and the Golden Palm at Cannes and won the jury prize at Cannes and a César.

For some reason I really didn't like those movies. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood, IDK. My brother had to watch Perspolis for one of his classes and it was on Starz, so I watched it with him (they showed it in French). Waltz with Bashir I just rented from the library. It looked like they used some kind of filter over live-action footage, like a music video, rather then animation (although it was a combination of 2D, Flash and CGI, but mostly Flash). With the intent to look like a graphic novel, it's probably the smartest use of Flash I've ever seen.

Seems everyone outside the US understands that animation is not strictly a child's medium and are producing some artistic/stylized productions. I wish the US animation industry would take some notes but they're too busy counting their billions to worry about taking risks. I'm not asking for Fritz the Cat, vulgarity and violence, but for some serious storytelling that adults can enjoy (not to undermine the work Pixar and others have done while catering to the family market).

What about Mary and Max? That's a recent one.

The Blind Side-really good movie. Not too far above inspirational stories, but it's really nice. Sandra Bullock definitely deserved her Oscar.

Up next: either Sixth Sense or the Lovely Bones.

Goliath wrote:

jpanimation wrote:So my mentor and I were having a discussion about how everyone treats animation as a kids medium and how we never see any serious or adult oriented movies (you know, outside anime).

Other animated films targeted to adults are Perspolis (2007) and Waltz with Bashir (2008). The latter was nominated for an Oscar and for two BAFTA Awards and won a César and Golden Globe. The former was nominated for an Oscar, two BAFTA Awards and the Golden Palm at Cannes and won the jury prize at Cannes and a César.

You know, the thing is, a lot of animated films that are advertised toward kids could still be considered better-suited for adults. Coming immediately to mind is actually Up. A lot of that movie would go right over the heads of most children.

SHUTTER ISLAND.

"I dclare."
"I don't. That's how I get to keep it"

Man, I love Psycho.