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Post by eljedicolombiano on May 16, 2023 19:05:45 GMT
Ingram I’d be interested to know what are your thoughts on the Master and Commander film. Is it worth watching ?
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Post by Ingram on May 16, 2023 22:33:54 GMT
Ingram I’d be interested to know what are your thoughts on the Master and Commander film. Is it worth watching ? Peter Weir's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World from 2003? You've never seen it...?! Shit, son.
It ranks among my favorite war films. It's based on a book from the early '70s, I believe, but almost plays out narratively like a work of classic fiction from, say, the time in which the film is set, being the Napoleonic Wars. By that I mean it weaves a series of little charactercentric story threads & conflicts into an organic, satisfying whole. But it's not just some stuffy BBC period drama equivalent either. Often conversational, yes, while still grounded in a theater of naval peril and paced like a thinking-man's adventure. Honestly, I prefer Crowe in this over Gladiator.
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Post by Somny on May 16, 2023 23:05:19 GMT
Ingram I’d be interested to know what are your thoughts on the Master and Commander film. Is it worth watching ? Peter Weir's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World from 2003? You've never seen it...?! Shit, son.
It ranks among my favorite war films. It's based on a book from the early '70s, I believe, but almost plays out narratively like a work of classic fiction from, say, the time in which the film is set, being the Napoleonic Wars. By that I mean it weaves a series of little charactercentric story threads & conflicts into an organic, satisfying whole. But it's not just some stuffy BBC period drama equivalent either. Often conversational, yes, while still grounded in a theater of naval peril and paced like a thinking-man's adventure. Honestly, I prefer Crowe in this over Gladiator. Heartily seconded. A masterpiece and one of the best films from Weir, a global treasure of an auteur. Watch it tonight. And no, that's not a suggestion. |
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Post by smittysgelato on May 20, 2023 22:22:23 GMT
A trailer for Marty's latest film, Killers of the Flower Moon, aka my reason to subscribe to Apple+
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Post by Subtext Mining on Jun 5, 2023 13:02:58 GMT
Has anyone here seen the 1967 French film Playtime by Jaques Tati? I'd somehow never heard of it before, but last week I came across it and from what I started hearing about it, I had to see it. It's probably the most unique film I've ever seen. There's literally no discernible story. It's basically two hours of people going about their day as either a tourist or someone doing their job in a very grey and geometric, somewhat futuristic Paris. Well, there are a few recurring "main characters", that we follow through the day, but there's no substantial dialogue. The onus of the film is mainly just lots of people doing lots of things, with a lot of Buster Keaton, or Monty Python-esque gags along the way. It's hard to explain, but worth the watch for it's cultural significance. In many of the reviews I watched for it, the reviewers said it's their favorite movie of all time. I think it probably had a big influence on Lucas as well. It came out not too long after his success with his student film and he was starting to decide to stay with filmmaking. I can see some influence in wide angle, multi-layered, crowded shots, like these which Ingram recently pointed out, and the bar/nightclub scenes. But also in the humor.   Anyways, it's on youtube. m.youtube.com/watch?v=d8baw7Rb-9kAnd actually, my thought while watching it was, this is the path society begins to go down which leads to the THX 1138 world  . I could see THX 1138 as the sequel to this movie, maybe 100 years after Playtime. |
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Post by smittysgelato on Jun 5, 2023 19:25:26 GMT
Rick McCallum might as well have been describing Playtime when he said, "it's so dense!." There are so many easter egg-like details scattered throughout the frames of Playtime, making it one of the most visually incredible films ever made. Lots of replay value there.
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Post by smittysgelato on Jun 8, 2023 5:01:16 GMT
I just finished watching Avatar: The Way of Water. It was better than Youtube wanted me to believe it was. Cameron definitely has a sense of craft missing from a lot of movies these days. Also, by switching the environment up, he gave us something a little different just like Lucas would do. It is going to be exciting to see how this saga develops and plays out over the course of the next few years. The transhuman elements in this series are very intriguing indeed.
My top 3 of 2022 thus far:
1. Del Toro's Pinocchio
2. Everything Everywhere All At Once
3. Avatar: The Way of Water
I still need to see Top Gun: Maverick and The Fablemans.
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Post by eljedicolombiano on Jun 12, 2023 2:58:04 GMT
Saw last week Fred Zinnemann's A Man for all Seasons based on the trial and execution of St. Thomas More set during the English Reformation. Magnificent film
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Post by eljedicolombiano on Jun 19, 2023 4:15:26 GMT
just finished seeing Master and Commander. You guys where right what a tremendous film
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Post by stampidhd280pro on Jul 5, 2023 0:23:36 GMT
I watched What About Bob? (1991) this week, and it's good. But it made me realize, for a while there at least, this type of dark comedy was like a genre in itself. Where some intolerable person ruins your life and turns everyone you know against you, all within 24 hours.
A couple others off the top of my head,
Neighbors (1981)
Clifford (1994)
I'd like to know if there are any other movies yall know of, that are also like this. Dennis the Menace comes to mind, though its not as dark as the other three i mentioned. And Darth Jar Jar of course. But Im looking for something darker.
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Post by Subtext Mining on Jul 5, 2023 9:50:58 GMT
What About Bob was my favorite movie for awhile. I used to have it memorized. There are still lines from it that I use in conversations or in my head to this day. A band I was in even had a song about it.
The SNL and Second City crews made a number of films more or less in the genre you describe. Dana Carvey even actually has a couple hidden gems like Clean Slate and Opportunity Knocks.
In the movie It's Pat, the title character comes into someone's life and he becomes unhealthily obsessed with Pat.
The 'Burbs, maybe
I'll try to remember more.
But yes, I love this motif, one of the reasons I love Seinfeld so much. Jerry's life getting ruined by his neurotic friends every week.
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Post by Subtext Mining on Jul 5, 2023 20:58:38 GMT
I remembered some more. Cable Guy, of course. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Survivors with Robin Williams, Drop Dead Fred, House Guest. And as I mentioned with Second City, John Candy's bread & butter was this type of comedy, Planes, Trains & Automobiles and The Great Outdoors come to mind first.
And I asked at the facebook group Incredibly Strange Films, which I recommend joining, and got:
To Sleep With Anger
Pacific Heights
Dark Backwards
D-Train, and Election (both Jack Black)
Poison Ivy
Funny Games
Happiness
Duplex
The Ref
Madhouse
She-Devil
Most of these I'd never head of but I looked them up and they sound good.
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Post by smittysgelato on Jul 6, 2023 5:30:29 GMT
Since Star Wars is all about compassion, I thought I would share a movie with you all that shares Star Wars' compassionate spirit. This would be last year's movie Broker, a Korean/Japanese film about a mother who abandons her child in a baby drop box. The child is then kidnapped by a pair of men who try to sell the baby to interested couples. Doesn't sound terribly compassionate now does it? The writing is very good so that the characters initially look pretty despicable, but then the layers are peeled back to reveal multiple motives for the character's actions. I guess you could say this movie is similar to Juno, except it isn't done in the vein of obnoxious late-noughties hipster trash (Yeah, I don't like Juno, lol).
It is a close call between this one and Pinocchio for my favorite film of 2022.
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Film club
Jul 10, 2023 8:27:11 GMT
via mobile
Post by stampidhd280pro on Jul 10, 2023 8:27:11 GMT
Well, in the last few days I watched Smokey and the Bandit, Jabberwocky, Carrie, Dr. Strangelove, and Xanadu. I started Lost World: (Jurassic Park 2) and I haven't seen it since it was in theaters. Man does it suck compared to the first one. I got halfway through but I'll have to start from the beginning because I really dont care or remember where I left off.
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Post by Ingram on Jul 10, 2023 8:45:41 GMT
Well, in the last few days I watched Smokey and the Bandit, Jabberwocky, Carrie, Dr. Strangelove, and Xanadu. I started Lost World: (Jurassic Park 2) and I haven't seen it since it was in theaters. Man does it suck compared to the first one. I got halfway through but I'll have to start from the beginning because I really dont care or remember where I left off.
Spielberg's worst feature-length film. I'd argue it's the only true sequel he ever helmed outside the Indy series, the latter of which was more like his own personal Bond franchise return gig. Point being, it shows. It's the one film where he really is checked out on any level concerning personal investment; it was practically a contractual gig on everything but paper and at time I'm betting he was far more artistically invested in both Amistad and Saving Private Ryan. The sequel actually has no story, just an anemic setup followed by a bunch of cynical filmmaking. It's pretty lousy.
I like Gilliam's Jabberwocky. Wild ride and great precursor to my favorite of his, Time Bandits.
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Film club
Jul 10, 2023 13:41:55 GMT
via mobile
Post by eljedicolombiano on Jul 10, 2023 13:41:55 GMT
Recently saw Lawrence of Arabia- all these historical epics from the time have incredible soundtracks and great location shooting. This one is a bit weaker than it’s contemporaries though; perhaps it’s the nature of its imperial hero?
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Post by smittysgelato on Jul 11, 2023 4:57:13 GMT
Personally, I think Lawrence of Arabia is one of the all-time greats. My admiration for the hero doesn't stem from the righteousness of his cause, but simply because his is not an easy task to accomplish. And of course, the cinematography is top-tier.
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Post by eljedicolombiano on Jul 11, 2023 21:19:13 GMT
I think my issue is that I find Lawrence hard to read; he’s an enigma in a way.
As far as his cause, well the importation of nationalism into the Middle East has arguably done more harm than good; but then the spread of these ideas fall on something far larger than an individual.
The other great Imperial hero is General Gordon, who Charlton Heston interpreted in Khartoum. Which I still haven’t seen, but I need to soon; Gordon after all, is the only European to have been given the honor of belonging to the Chinese Emperor’s bodyguards
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Post by smittysgelato on Jul 11, 2023 23:30:24 GMT
This is great for repeat viewings.
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Post by ArchdukeOfNaboo on Jul 12, 2023 12:48:38 GMT
I think my issue is that I find Lawrence hard to read; he’s an enigma in a way. As far as his cause, well the importation of nationalism into the Middle East has arguably done more harm than good; but then the spread of these ideas fall on something far larger than an individual.
Well, today it's neither nationalism or supranational pan-Islamism. Pick your poison.
Nationalism in the Middle East (ie North Africa & West Asia) varies depending on the country. In Egypt, for example, its more linked to Egyptian history, Egyptian cultural uniqueness, is more secular and thus embracing of the Christian minority (Copts), and also stands against Turkish neo-imperialism and Saudi hegemony in the region. It is also associated with the military. Pan-Islamism, on the other hand, is more favoured by radical parties like the Muslim Brotherhood, and extremist, militant organisations like Al Qaeda, Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram and Islamic State who - famously - do not constrain themselves to national boundaries. The last of those attempted to revive the Caliphate in Iraq & Syria and decry the end of the the last one (Ottoman Empire) during WWI, the period this film is set.
There's also Pan-Arabism, but some say that that's just a smokescreen for what is in reality (Sunni) Pan-Islamism. Others then will tell you Pan-Islamism is a tool for Turkish or Arab exceptionalism.
The "nation state" is indeed a foreign concept to the history of this region, and like much other political jargon, it was imported from Europe. Traditionally, the Islamic world would have been dominated by a series of empires (ie monarchies).
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. I could see THX 1138 as the sequel to this movie, maybe 100 years after Playtime.
