General Movie Thread

[Pat K]

"Highly"?  That's way too enthusiastic.  As I said, I found it interesting enough to want to see how it worked as a book (almost certainly better than as a movie).   

I was gonna say, I read the book right before seeing the movie, and I loved the book and thought the movie was kinda mediocre. I'm sure my estimation of it was biased from having read the book so recently, but I stand by it.  That story works way better as a book than as a movie.  You'll enjoy it.

[Bryan]

As it is, the plot includes at least 4 looong sequences of characters doing "research", which are presented on film as montages of them shuffling through papers, typing things into computers, and squinting at photographs while making scowling, exaggerrated "hmmmmm" expressions.  It seriously feels like these scenes take up at least 15-20 minutes of the running time. Not my idea of compelling cinema.

That stuff takes up about 60% of the book (which I liked). The other 40% was sexual violence.

[jbissell]

I caught The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo this weekend and found it way, way overhyped, with an utterly chemistry-free leading couple and many glaring plot holes that I'm guessing were explained in the book.  If you ask me (which you all did, right?), any comparisons to Silence of the Lambs are crazytalk.

For once I'm welcoming the inevitable American remake, if only to see the story get tightened up and made more exciting. As it is, the plot includes at least 4 looong sequences of characters doing "research", which are presented on film as montages of them shuffling through papers, typing things into computers, and squinting at photographs while making scowling, exaggerrated "hmmmmm" expressions.  It seriously feels like these scenes take up at least 15-20 minutes of the running time. Not my idea of compelling cinema.

I think I liked it a little more than you but it definitely could've been shorter. It's weird, all of those research shots are pretty atypical these days, especially in the amount of detail they covered. I thought the girl was very good, though their relationship did seem forced.

[Chris L]

I caught The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo this weekend and found it way, way overhyped, with an utterly chemistry-free leading couple and many glaring plot holes that I'm guessing were explained in the book.  If you ask me (which you all did, right?), any comparisons to Silence of the Lambs are crazytalk.

For once I'm welcoming the inevitable American remake, if only to see the story get tightened up and made more exciting. As it is, the plot includes at least 4 looong sequences of characters doing "research", which are presented on film as montages of them shuffling through papers, typing things into computers, and squinting at photographs while making scowling, exaggerrated "hmmmmm" expressions.  It seriously feels like these scenes take up at least 15-20 minutes of the running time. Not my idea of compelling cinema.

I think I liked it a little more than you but it definitely could've been shorter. It's weird, all of those research shots are pretty atypical these days, especially in the amount of detail they covered. I thought the girl was very good, though their relationship did seem forced.

I haven't seen Girl With the Dragon Tattoo yet, but I couldn't believe it when I read that Flo from Progressive is starring in the American remake.*


*I think I read it on my own Twitter where I already made that joke.  

[Joe Rogaine]

Korine does have excellent taste.  I remember reading years ago he's a huge Flannery O'Connor fan too. 
 

Yabbut it's a weird taste, I think is what I meant, you know? Those are all good movies, but collected together as his top ten (& his O'Connor worship), well, that's quite a statement. I love O'Connor too, though, so there you have it.

BTW I actually have Fat City in my netflix queue - haven't seen it. Do youse like it?

Oh, I'm sure to some extent that kind of namechecking is calculated to boost the cachet of his trash humping experiments and what not.  I don't recall reading any of his actual thoughts on any filmmakers.

Fat City is pretty damn great.  I should watch it again sometime if it's on instant, actually.

I checked it out after they mentioned it on the show and thought it was great, i loved the opening scene. I was also glad to see that what Mike thought was the ending of the movie wasn't really the last scene although it would have made a better ending.

[Big Plastic Head]

I watched the German film "North Face" on Netflix instant watch last night and I really liked it but jeez...After watching I felt like I had been beaten with a lead pipe.

[masterofsparks]

There's a Korine interview on The AV Club. I guess he doesn't come across as quite as much of a jerk as I would've imagined, but reading the interview really confirms just how much I don't ever need to see one of his movies.

[Pat K]

There's a Korine interview on The AV Club. I guess he doesn't come across as quite as much of a jerk as I would've imagined, but reading the interview really confirms just how much I don't ever need to see one of his movies.

Yeah, I think he get's kind of a bad rap. I have absolutely no interest in seeing Gummo or Julien Donkey Boy, but I certianly don't think he does what he does just to be a deliberately transgressive avant garde darling, or whatever other levels of phoniness people accuse him of inhabiting.  I'm not sure what kind of all-powerful Avant Garde Establishment people accuse him of trying to impress all the time, but in the interviews and stuff I've read about him, he's usually able to speak pretty clearly about his art and why he does what he does and all that.  I think he has genuine artistic reasons for doing what he does, even though most of what he's involved with seems annoying and/or totally repulsive.   

It's just hard for me to believe that someone would spend a year or more of their life financing and shooting a film where every day on-set before they yell "action", they think to themselves "I have no idea what I'm doing and I don't give a shit, but this is going to drive my avant-garde cred through the roof! I can't believe people are gonna buy this shit!"

The only film of his I've seen is Mister Lonely, and while it was pretty flawed and boring in parts, Richard Strange dressed up as Lincoln maniacally reciting the Gettysburg Address in front of strobe lights while spinning a basketball on his finger was one of my favorite cinematic images from 2008.

[Bryan]

As I said earlier in this thread, I like Korine, though I don't necessarily like all his movies. I think Gummo is pretty terrific though. It's funny and, I think, quite tender and sympathetic towards its subjects. And anyway, even if there weren't a bunch of other great scenes, this one scene would justify the whole movie's existence:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij0YgYAofHk[/youtube]

Taping cutlery together to make barbells? A touch of genius.

And I also think that shooting a feature film on VHS in 2010 is badass and pretty hilarious - without making me want to watch it.

[jbissell]

The only film of his I've seen is Mister Lonely, and while it was pretty flawed and boring in parts, Richard Strange dressed up as Lincoln maniacally reciting the Gettysburg Address in front of strobe lights while spinning a basketball on his finger was one of my favorite cinematic images from 2008.

Yeah, there are so many great images. Especially the nuns.

[masterofsparks]

I've heard good things about Gummo but the cat drowning stuff has scared me away. I really have no tolerance for animal cruelty in movies. How graphic is it?

[Bryan]

It's been a few years, but I don't remember the cat-killing being shown onscreen.

[Christina]

I've heard good things about Gummo but the cat drowning stuff has scared me away. I really have no tolerance for animal cruelty in movies. How graphic is it?

Wow, me too ... the second I heard about it I knew I couldn't watch it.

[cavorting with nudists]

Wow, me too ... the second I heard about it I knew I couldn't watch it.

Yeah, this. I remember hearing this (in Dealey Plaza--no, just kidding, Andy!) and instantly thinking that, no matter what Werner Herzog might have to say about him, the dude is a piece of shit and I would never, ever have anything but contempt for him.  I haven't wavered yet.

[Bryan]

Well, like I said, I don't think it's actually in the movie, though it is a plot point in the movie.

edit: Wrong again! After I wrote this, I became uncertain, and looked to see what the internet had to say on the subject, and the hive mind says there is indeed gross footage with cats. I guess it didn't upset me that much, because it didn't stay with me. But if you are sensitive about this kind of thing, then you ought to avoid it.