jayseven Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Elephant was made way before Paranoid Park so perhaps you would've enjoyed it more watching it first.
Hellfire Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 My Blueberry Nights Pretty good and has good actors (natalie portman <3), although the dialogues are a bit pretentious at times. Still, a very refreshing movie.
Bluejay Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Elephant was made way before Paranoid Park so perhaps you would've enjoyed it more watching it first. Probably, but I only watched Elephant because I enjoyed Paranoid Park. And yeah, the areas where they were similar made Elephant's shortcomings seem worse because I had seen those bits done better in Paranoid Park (stuff like the long corridor shots and the dreamier bits just seemed better done in PP) Wow... so you actually prefered Paraturd Park over Elephant? Wowkay! I'm just being an asshole. But I do dislike P Park fiercely. Fair enough. Why then, is Elephant so much better and why am I wrong, Mr Waste? Do tell for I will listen. Also, is the Kurt Cobain esque one worth seeing anyone?
Oxigen_Waste Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Fair enough. Why then, is Elephant so much better and why am I wrong, Mr Waste? Do tell for I will listen. Because it illustrates the situation perfectly. Elephant is a reflection, Gus Van Sant envites us to wonder how disillusioned this world is, that something as cruel as a sick child shooting up students at his school can be sold to millions of viewers like high cholesterol cookies!! Elephant is his manifesto to the alienation of society, and it illustrates it perfectly: WITHOUT DRAMA! The marvel of how it treats killers in such a banal approach, without putting them on pedestals like usually done. They're just two kids, that's all they are. It's a perfect essay on teenage life! No other film has dealt with teenage life so vividly, so naturally, and as unpretentious as what Van Sant has made. I argue the critics who posit the lack of character development as a sign of weakness in Elephant, I see it as an intricate brushstroke. For after all, who knows a person better than the person him/herself? Its lack of animating the characters reminds one of the many people passing by when one walks down a boulevard. Who is he? His past? His future? Basketball? We have to come up with guesses to fill in those blanks. And since Van Sant has constructed a universe that is whole with his minimalism, the experience of being on that campus is fulfilled and the people who come there every weekday (John, Elias, Nathan & Carrie, Alex & Eric, Michelle, Nicole, Brittany, Jordan, Acadia, and Bennie) become those men and women who I or you wander about, their lives a plug for our curiosity. Elephant avoids animation of character and like Kiarostami wants audiences to think concerning the character involved, our logic is what develops Elephant’s characters. Van Sant’s vision is bleak albeit pessimistic, but even though its content does not provide a solution, it gives understanding which is rare everywhere nowadays. For that, I give it my 7/10. Also, is the Kurt Cobain esque one worth seeing anyone? No. It really isn't.
Bluejay Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Because it illustrates the situation perfectly. Elephant is a reflection, Gus Van Sant envites us to wonder how disillusioned this world is, that something as cruel as a sick child shooting up students at his school can be sold to millions of viewers like high cholesterol cookies!! Elephant is his manifesto to the alienation of society, and it illustrates it perfectly: WITHOUT DRAMA! The marvel of how it treats killers in such a banal approach, without putting them on pedestals like usually done. They're just two kids, that's all they are. It's a perfect essay on teenage life! No other film has dealt with teenage life so vividly, so naturally, and as unpretentious as what Van Sant has made. I argue the critics who posit the lack of character development as a sign of weakness in Elephant, I see it as an intricate brushstroke. For after all, who knows a person better than the person him/herself? Its lack of animating the characters reminds one of the many people passing by when one walks down a boulevard. Who is he? His past? His future? Basketball? We have to come up with guesses to fill in those blanks. And since Van Sant has constructed a universe that is whole with his minimalism, the experience of being on that campus is fulfilled and the people who come there every weekday (John, Elias, Nathan & Carrie, Alex & Eric, Michelle, Nicole, Brittany, Jordan, Acadia, and Bennie) become those men and women who I or you wander about, their lives a plug for our curiosity. Elephant avoids animation of character and like Kiarostami wants audiences to think concerning the character involved, our logic is what develops Elephant’s characters.Van Sant’s vision is bleak albeit pessimistic, but even though its content does not provide a solution, it gives understanding which is rare everywhere nowadays. For that, I give it my 7/10. No. It really isn't. Interesting. I still didn't like the artistic direction, but I can see its merits. And noted, i will spend my time watching something else I feel. Also, what do you do for a living? Because this question is completely on topic.
Oxigen_Waste Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Interesting. I still didn't like the artistic direction, but I can see its merits. And noted, i will spend my time watching something else I feel. Also, what do you do for a living? Because this question is completely on topic. At the moment I'm a student, I'm in my first year of a cinema course. But I will be dropping it and initiating some other course next year. But hey, don't go by me, see Last Days for yourself, you might just love it. I know many movie buffs who like it.
Mundi Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 At the moment I'm a student, I'm in my first year of a cinema course. But I will be dropping it and initiating some other course next year. Are learning about movies or studying how to make them? I´m hoping I get into a films schools next year and learn to be a script writer. The course I´m taking now sucks immensely
Oxigen_Waste Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Are learning about movies or studying how to make them? I´m hoping I get into a films schools next year and learn to be a script writer. The course I´m taking now sucks immensely I'm not as much learning about movies as much as I'm learning how to make it. But that's just fine with me, I already have the cultural knowledge, all I want is the Know How. The problem is, like everything in this country, the god damned course sucks. I'm learning nothing at all. =S As for you, yeah, you should do that! I mean, I don't know that much about Icelandic cinema (I know that Baltasar Kormákur is overrated, that Cold Fever is quite awesome, Nói Albinói is fantastic, When the Raven Flies is nice and that Mýrin is awesome too. Oh, and I've been meaning to watch Juniper Tree, is it any good?) but if that's what you want, you should go and run for it! : peace:
Konfucius Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 original, or remake? Seems I watched the remake. Didn't know it was remake though. I suppose the original is better?!
Bluejay Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 At the moment I'm a student, I'm in my first year of a cinema course. But I will be dropping it and initiating some other course next year. But hey, don't go by me, see Last Days for yourself, you might just love it. I know many movie buffs who like it. I may do. But its not just you who doesn't rate it very highly. Time is short at the moment.
Mundi Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 I mean, I don't know that much about Icelandic cinema (I know that Baltasar Kormákur is overrated, that Cold Fever is quite awesome, Nói Albinói is fantastic, When the Raven Flies is nice and that Mýrin is awesome too. Oh, and I've been meaning to watch Juniper Tree, is it any good?) but if that's what you want, you should go and run for it! : peace: Yeah that guy is a bit overrated by the media here when he makes movies but like most Icelandic movies here they are pretty much forgotten when the next big American movie comes because the producers can´t compete commercially against those movies. The money they spend on advertising those movies is more then what an average Icelandic movie costs. I still haven´t seen When The Raven Flies and Mýrin (the book is quite good too) but I plan on seeing them. Haven´t seen Juniper Tree, in fact I´ve heard very little about it. Also an Icelandic movie I recommend is Children Of The Nature That´s my favorite Icelandic movie and Djöflaeyjan. But I don´t know how enjoyable it is for someone not from Iceland but it´s basically a true story about the life's of a couple of families after the second world war and how the occupation of the American army affected us as a society. Both of these movies are directed by the man who did Cold Fever
ReZourceman Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 I was actually suprisingly impressed with the Precinct 13 remake.
Jimbob Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 Borat Only the second time i watched this, still quite funny but not as funny as the first time though. 9/10
Mr. Bananagrabber Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 Silent Running Pretty fun sci-fi flick. Absolutely beautiful at times. 8/10
jayseven Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 Seems I watched the remake. Didn't know it was remake though. I suppose the original is better?! The original is a John Carpenter movie... Need I say more? Moody, good pacing and it doesn't smack of that Hollywood taste.
gaggle64 Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 Silent Running Pretty fun sci-fi flick. Absolutely beautiful at times. 8/10 I love that film. The greatest organic food ad ever made.
triforce_keeper Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 Planet of the Apes (2001) Enjoyable movie, some of the characters were great, I loved the slave trader, brought a bit of comic relief to the movie ^_^ Confusing though, and the thing I hate is coming away from a movie dissatisfied and unfulfilled, which this movie did. The ending was just too confusing and sceptical, I like movies to be rounded off. 7/10
The Bard Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 Training Day - 9/10. One of Denzel Washingtons best performances I reckon. Harold And Kumar go to White Castle - I was actually very very stoned when I saw this, which is probably why it was the funniest thing ever...Lol/10
Paj! Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 Ms.Congeniality 2 5/10 Wasn't unpleasant. More "action-packed" than the first one, but major plot-holes and bits that just made no sense... Not worth a rewatch.
Ashley Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 Forgetting Sarah Marshall Nice comedy, good to unwind to. Plus Kristen Bell and Jason Segel are always a treat to watch. 8
welsh_gamer Posted May 1, 2008 Posted May 1, 2008 Monty Python and the Holy Grail The follwoing sketches/scenes are hillariously funny :- The Black Knight, Knights of the Round table song and dance, The Knights who say Ni, The Wedding, Tim the Enchanter, The Cave of Caerbannog and The Bridge of Death, but the rest (and quite a large portion) of the film is quite dull. 6/10 A.I. Spielberg's weakest film. It has it's moments and some scene's are quite emotional, but it's such a slow and boring film. Bicentennial Man is much better. 5.5/10
Eenuh Posted May 1, 2008 Posted May 1, 2008 A.I. Spielberg's weakest film. It has it's moments and some scene's are quite emotional, but it's such a slow and boring film. Bicentennial Man is much better. 5.5/10 Really? I thought Bicentennial Man was kinda meh; I really didn't like it much. A.I., though indeed slow, seemed more interesting to me for some reason. But yes, not that great a film either.
darksnowman Posted May 1, 2008 Posted May 1, 2008 Last night I watched Next and it was better than I expected... actually, it was quality. Its a film with Nick Cage where he can see a bit into the future, basically the government want him to help them by looking into the future to tip them off on terrorism. I liked it and strangely I found I wished it lasted longer- an "open ending" is fine by me, but it was a good watch so I just wanted to see more and find out how it turned out. 8/10
gaggle64 Posted May 1, 2008 Posted May 1, 2008 Monty Python and the Holy Grail The follwoing sketches/scenes are hillariously funny :- The Black Knight, Knights of the Round table song and dance, The Knights who say Ni, The Wedding, Tim the Enchanter, The Cave of Caerbannog and The Bridge of Death, but the rest (and quite a large portion) of the film is quite dull. 6/10
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