General Movie Thread

[Martin]

Belatedly, I chime in to say I loathed Forrest Gump both for its sentimental candy coating and its reactionary, poisonous center. 

It's never too late to confess your loathing of that movie, Sarah.

[Bryan]

Yeah, of course I hated it too. I think most of the controversy on this topic can be explained by whether or not people were children when it was released. Kids bought it, and have their opinions of the movie colored by nostalgia.

Tom Hanks does seem like a pretty nice guy, but also the dullest actor around. His presence in anything makes it almost 100% certain that I won't see it. Anytime I diverge from this policy ('The Ladykillers'!) I regret it.

[yesno]

Yeah, of course I hated it too. I think most of the controversy on this topic can be explained by whether or not people were children when it was released. Kids bought it, and have their opinions of the movie colored by nostalgia.

Tom Hanks does seem like a pretty nice guy, but also the dullest actor around. His presence in anything makes it almost 100% certain that I won't see it. Anytime I diverge from this policy ('The Ladykillers'!) I regret it.

I thought Charlie Wilson's War was great.

[iAmBaronVonTito]

Yeah, of course I hated it too. I think most of the controversy on this topic can be explained by whether or not people were children when it was released. Kids bought it, and have their opinions of the movie colored by nostalgia.

i can argue this by saying i was eleven years old when this movie was released and i hated it.  i saw it as an adult, thinking i was missing out on something, and i still gave it a thumbs down. 

[Chris L]

Tossed-off summations of things I've seen lately:

CRIA CUERVOS – Spanish film directed by Carlos Saura near the time of Franco’s death.  Highly, highly recommended.  Maybe the most dead-on depiction of childhood emotions I’ve ever seen in a film.  Stars Anna Torrent, the little girl from SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE (and possibly written with her in mind?).   Criterion released this but slapped one of their ugliest covers on it.  You should be able to watch it free for the remainder of the month on The Auteurs website.  

SILENT LIGHT – 2007 film set in a Mennonite community in Mexico (AGAIN?) that I think hits US dvd this fall.   The point of praise everyone seems to agree on is the majestic opening shot, and while I watched this in full in probably the worst possible format – YouseTube (“HQ”) - I have to agree it’s nature porn of a very high order.   However, the film apes the pacing of Tarkovsky and especially the entire conclusion of Dreyer’s ORDET in a very shameless and superficial way.   Still worth a look as at least those are references worth ripping off for a change.

THE HURT LOCKER – I’ve been trying to decide whether I prefer this to GENERATION KILL (surprised I haven’t seen the two compared more thus far) and overall I’d probably say yes.  GK had stronger characterization and more detail but the set pieces here are far more taut and suspenseful.  Kathryn Bigelow will likely be a no-brainer for a best director nod and even factoring out politics it’ll be deserved.  

[masterofsparks]

Good to know about The Hurt Locker. I've heard amazing things but I was ignoring it for awhile, possibly because of the dumb title. It sounds like I may need to see it.

[Chris L]

Good to know about The Hurt Locker. I've heard amazing things but I was ignoring it for awhile, possibly because of the dumb title. It sounds like I may need to see it.

Well, it's good, but amazing is pushing it.  Keep in mind it's been a long time since there was anything with explosions that critics could chew on.

[B_Buster]

Tossed-off summations of things I've seen lately:

THE HURT LOCKER – I’ve been trying to decide whether I prefer this to GENERATION KILL (surprised I haven’t seen the two compared more thus far) and overall I’d probably say yes.  GK had stronger characterization and more detail but the set pieces here are far more taut and suspenseful.  Kathryn Bigelow will likely be a no-brainer for a best director nod and even factoring out politics it’ll be deserved.  

I thought it was good, too, but a little repetitious at times (which may have been the point) and a little long. I'd probably give the nod to Generation Kill, but it had more time to develop the characters.

[yesno]

The best thing about GK is that it's funny.  Is Hurt Locker funny?  I've been staying away because it looks sad.

[Chris L]

The best thing about GK is that it's funny.  Is Hurt Locker funny?  I've been staying away because it looks sad.

GK is way funnier and the humor is more organic.  Hurt Locker has gallows/buddy humor but nothing I really laughed out loud at.  The performances are really strong. 

[jbissell]

Tossed-off summations of things I've seen lately:

THE HURT LOCKER – I’ve been trying to decide whether I prefer this to GENERATION KILL (surprised I haven’t seen the two compared more thus far) and overall I’d probably say yes.  GK had stronger characterization and more detail but the set pieces here are far more taut and suspenseful.  Kathryn Bigelow will likely be a no-brainer for a best director nod and even factoring out politics it’ll be deserved.  

I thought it was good, too, but a little repetitious at times (which may have been the point) and a little long.

Yeah, I've read some interviews where she basically said that was the point; these guys do this 8-10 times a day and she wanted to capture that sense of repitition.  Despite the repitition, the stakes always felt high (though there were certain moments when I knew exactly what was going to happen, ie. the doctor tagging along).  I actually thought the weakest parts were the moments away from the action, they didn't really add too much to the characters.  Hopefully Jeremy Renner gets some awards notice because it's easily the best performance I've seen this year.

[iAmBaronVonTito]

i saw Blindness yesterday.  luckily, i recorded it because this movie was...well, it was something.  i couldve gone without seeing the rape scenes.

[buffcoat]

The best thing about GK is that it's funny.  Is Hurt Locker funny?  I've been staying away because it looks sad.

Never ask Mike if anything's funny, unless you are looking to see something that isn't funny.

[dave from knoxville]

Here's another plug for Moon. Sam Rockwell's great. It's a measured character study, but there are plenty of subtle funny moments that prevent it turning into Stroszek in space. Very nice.  I can't remember if I mentioned last week how much I liked Lars and the Real Girl, but if I didn't, I did.

[masterofsparks]

Tossed-off summations of things I've seen lately:

THE HURT LOCKER – I’ve been trying to decide whether I prefer this to GENERATION KILL (surprised I haven’t seen the two compared more thus far) and overall I’d probably say yes.  GK had stronger characterization and more detail but the set pieces here are far more taut and suspenseful.  Kathryn Bigelow will likely be a no-brainer for a best director nod and even factoring out politics it’ll be deserved.  

I thought it was good, too, but a little repetitious at times (which may have been the point) and a little long.

Yeah, I've read some interviews where she basically said that was the point; these guys do this 8-10 times a day and she wanted to capture that sense of repitition.  Despite the repitition, the stakes always felt high (though there were certain moments when I knew exactly what was going to happen, ie. the doctor tagging along).  I actually thought the weakest parts were the moments away from the action, they didn't really add too much to the characters.  Hopefully Jeremy Renner gets some awards notice because it's easily the best performance I've seen this year.

Details online are a bit sketchy since I don't have an IMDB Pro subscription, but based on the little I've heard, I'm really looking forward to Bigelow's follow-up (it might be a sequel, I'm not sure) The Anxiety Pantry.