What's The Latest Film You Have Seen?

~~pooka~~ · 04-08-2011, 10:28 PM

i saw tangled with the kids and liked it.

dankrsta · 04-09-2011, 03:17 PM

Black Swan

So I finally watched it. I have already mentioned couple of times that I don't really like Aronofsky based on three films I've seen (Pi, The Fountain and Requiem for a Dream). Only Requiem was tolerable, the other two, with their crudely, superficially depicted, self-important themes, I hated. That said, Black Swan is the best so far (I have yet to see the Wrestler), but that's not saying much. I liked it mainly because I have a soft spot for psychological thrillers and it worked in its favor that Aronofsky kept things simple. No big themes of life and death, meaning of the universe etc that he can't handle. The story is pretty straightforward, artist struggling to get in touch with her dark side and bring it forward through self-sacrifice. So this is something that gives a chance for some complex psychological portrait, but that wasn't explored beyond the surface and always in the most obvious ways. That's my gripe, it could have been a great film, but is only an okay psychological thriller/horror like many others and certainly not worthy of all the praise it got.

*****MINOR SPOILERS*****

I liked that Aronofsky used close-ups and that really helped Natalie Portman's performance and a sense of paranoia and trap. I guess it was somewhat of a necessity, so that he could avoid as much as he can detailed depicting of dancing. But, too much close-ups soon lost its effect by the end of the film. It seems like Aronofsky is not very subtle, not very good in mixing things up, too dependent on repetitions through the film. Not to mention that he likes to bang his audience over the head with obviousness, just in case we don't miss something. So here, he made sure that the we were always aware of the duality of white and black swan through such means that Nina usually wears white outfit and Lily black (really!?). On top of that (or on top of Nina) we see a tattooed black wings on Lily's back (aha!). Characters are very thin, which is not a big deal for Lily as she can be seen as Nina's projection of who she wants to be. But character of Nina herself is also rather thin. There's no real duality in her which is important for the film's main theme. She's paranoid, scared, struggling from the start, a real mess. Throughout the film she just becomes progressively worse, but that's not really a transformation from light to dark. So what are her excursions into darkness? She masturbates, goes out, drinks and takes drugs, hooks up with some guy, she swears in front of her mother, rebels, has a lesbian fantasy. And that's it. Really! And all of a sudden, the black feathers are growing from her back. Natalie Portman's performance was very good for what she was asked to do, but she didn't have much of a character.

OK, I'll stop with complaining. It's just that I have more to say about what I didn't like than about what I liked. Despite all that I enjoyed this film from start to finish, it wasn't boring, and I will always enjoy a solid thriller/horror unless it's really stupid. But I have to say, this one is not even one of the best of its genre, let alone some masterpiece it was proclaimed to be. This kind of film is usually not nominated for Oscar (regardless of its quality), so that was kind of surprising at first. Never underestimate the power of hype.

I also enjoyed picking apart "homages" to other films and directors. OK, Aronofsky himself said (I think I read somewhere) that Polanski's Repulsion was a big influence. And yes I can see that, but not as much as I see Dario Argento, especially Suspiria, and Brian De Palma's Carrie. To me, Aronofsky's fanboying was pretty obvious.

Phew! Who manages to read all this, gets a cookie.

Raust · 04-09-2011, 03:30 PM

Oh man, no words can describe how horrible this movie was. I find it halarious how meet the parents is a trilogy now. This movie was nothing like the original, the second one had a couple of okay moments, but really not impressed. They tried to put in a bunch of "funny" parts throughout the whole film and it got really old. Doesn't even look like it was made by the same director. Just lame!

djchameleon · 04-09-2011, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dankrsta

Black Swan

So I finally watched it. I have already mentioned couple of times that I don't really like Aronofsky based on three films I've seen (Pi, The Fountain and Requiem for a Dream). Only Requiem was tolerable, the other two, with their crudely, superficially depicted, self-important themes, I hated. That said, Black Swan is the best so far (I have yet to see the Wrestler), but that's not saying much. I liked it mainly because I have a soft spot for psychological thrillers and it worked in its favor that Aronofsky kept things simple. No big themes of life and death, meaning of the universe etc that he can't handle. The story is pretty straightforward, artist struggling to get in touch with her dark side and bring it forward through self-sacrifice. So this is something that gives a chance for some complex psychological portrait, but that wasn't explored beyond the surface and always in the most obvious ways. That's my gripe, it could have been a great film, but is only an okay psychological thriller/horror like many others and certainly not worthy of all the praise it got.

*****MINOR SPOILERS*****

I liked that Aronofsky used close-ups and that really helped Natalie Portman's performance and a sense of paranoia and trap. I guess it was somewhat of a necessity, so that he could avoid as much as he can detailed depicting of dancing. But, too much close-ups soon lost its effect by the end of the film. It seems like Aronofsky is not very subtle, not very good in mixing things up, too dependent on repetitions through the film. Not to mention that he likes to bang his audience over the head with obviousness, just in case we don't miss something. So here, he made sure that the we were always aware of the duality of white and black swan through such means that Nina usually wears white outfit and Lily black (really!?). On top of that (or on top of Nina) we see a tattooed black wings on Lily's back (aha!). Characters are very thin, which is not a big deal for Lily as she can be seen as Nina's projection of who she wants to be. But character of Nina herself is also rather thin. There's no real duality in her which is important for the film's main theme. She's paranoid, scared, struggling from the start, a real mess. Throughout the film she just becomes progressively worse, but that's not really a transformation from light to dark. So what are her excursions into darkness? She masturbates, goes out, drinks and takes drugs, hooks up with some guy, she swears in front of her mother, rebels, has a lesbian fantasy. And that's it. Really! And all of a sudden, the black feathers are growing from her back. Natalie Portman's performance was very good for what she was asked to do, but she didn't have much of a character.

OK, I'll stop with complaining. It's just that I have more to say about what I didn't like than about what I liked. Despite all that I enjoyed this film from start to finish, it wasn't boring, and I will always enjoy a solid thriller/horror unless it's really stupid. But I have to say, this one is not even one of the best of its genre, let alone some masterpiece it was proclaimed to be. This kind of film is usually not nominated for Oscar (regardless of its quality), so that was kind of surprising at first. Never underestimate the power of hype.

I also enjoyed picking apart "homages" to other films and directors. OK, Aronofsky himself said (I think I read somewhere) that Polanski's Repulsion was a big influence. And yes I can see that, but not as much as I see Dario Argento, especially Suspiria, and Brian De Palma's Carrie. To me, Aronofsky's fanboying was pretty obvious.

Phew! Who manages to read all this, gets a cookie.

Oatmeal Raisin cookie please!

I agree with most of the things you said. The best part of Black Swan as Natalie's performance but that's about it!

When I went to see it, the two other people that were in the theater with me were a bit confused as to what happened at the end. I'm like wtf are you kidding me?

He bashed the whole concept/idea of the movie over your head numerous times. I don't see how it was so hard to understand.

I have even talked to friends about the movie and they feel like questions were left unanswered. I'm like what!? are you sure we watched the same movie? I don't really understand those people.

jackhammer · 04-09-2011, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bulldog

Today I decided that instead of doing anything constructive it'd be a better idea to just watch another couple of movies I've heard a lot about but never seen, starting with;

^ Don't let that tacky MS Paint artwork put you off, as I couldn't agree with the top portion of blurb more. Pretty sick stuff, but I was just getting warmed up for...

^ That picture should tell you all you need to know.

In a word; ewwwwww

Never heard of the first one but I would definitely give it a watch.

As for Salo. It is certainly not for everyone and it does (literally) shove some ideals down your throat but it is damn powerful film and the last few minutes are some of the most haunting I have ever seen on film.

Anyone with a mere passing in serious film should have a watch of this on their C.V.

dankrsta · 04-09-2011, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djchameleon

Oatmeal Raisin cookie please!

Here, have four

captaincaptain · 04-09-2011, 08:00 PM

Saw it last night, not too shabby. I'd give it a solid B. The thing we these time travel like movies are the inevitable plots that come to light. I saw a couple, nothing too major. Are there any time travel movies that don't have plot holes? I don't think so. The only negative I can give this movie is that it pales in comparison to Jake Gyllenhall's vastly superior "other time travel movie" (and I'm not talking about Prince of Persia).

djchameleon · 04-09-2011, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dankrsta

Here, have four

nom nom nom

I watched War of the Worlds 2 this afternoon and it was okay. Finally, a direct to video sequel that actually mentions the first one. Usually these sequels are completely independent from their first ones. If I had to rate it, I would give it a 2/5. It's a good watch if you like sci-fi movies especially b-movie type ones. Also, if you would like to see Kid from Kid and Play acting again. Yep, he's in it.

Paedantic Basterd · 04-09-2011, 08:23 PM

I saw the very end of Black Swan without volume on someone else's screen on the plane, and I just have no interest at all.

debaserr · 04-10-2011, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

I saw the very end of Black Swan without volume on someone else's screen on the plane, and I just have no interest at all.

don't judge a book by it's last page in braille when you can't read braille.

04-09-2011, 03:17 PM	#9812 (permalink)
dankrsta ... Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,776	Black Swan So I finally watched it. I have already mentioned couple of times that I don't really like Aronofsky based on three films I've seen (Pi, The Fountain and Requiem for a Dream). Only Requiem was tolerable, the other two, with their crudely, superficially depicted, self-important themes, I hated. That said, Black Swan is the best so far (I have yet to see the Wrestler), but that's not saying much. I liked it mainly because I have a soft spot for psychological thrillers and it worked in its favor that Aronofsky kept things simple. No big themes of life and death, meaning of the universe etc that he can't handle. The story is pretty straightforward, artist struggling to get in touch with her dark side and bring it forward through self-sacrifice. So this is something that gives a chance for some complex psychological portrait, but that wasn't explored beyond the surface and always in the most obvious ways. That's my gripe, it could have been a great film, but is only an okay psychological thriller/horror like many others and certainly not worthy of all the praise it got. ***MINOR SPOILERS*** I liked that Aronofsky used close-ups and that really helped Natalie Portman's performance and a sense of paranoia and trap. I guess it was somewhat of a necessity, so that he could avoid as much as he can detailed depicting of dancing. But, too much close-ups soon lost its effect by the end of the film. It seems like Aronofsky is not very subtle, not very good in mixing things up, too dependent on repetitions through the film. Not to mention that he likes to bang his audience over the head with obviousness, just in case we don't miss something. So here, he made sure that the we were always aware of the duality of white and black swan through such means that Nina usually wears white outfit and Lily black (really!?). On top of that (or on top of Nina) we see a tattooed black wings on Lily's back (aha!). Characters are very thin, which is not a big deal for Lily as she can be seen as Nina's projection of who she wants to be. But character of Nina herself is also rather thin. There's no real duality in her which is important for the film's main theme. She's paranoid, scared, struggling from the start, a real mess. Throughout the film she just becomes progressively worse, but that's not really a transformation from light to dark. So what are her excursions into darkness? She masturbates, goes out, drinks and takes drugs, hooks up with some guy, she swears in front of her mother, rebels, has a lesbian fantasy. And that's it. Really! And all of a sudden, the black feathers are growing from her back. Natalie Portman's performance was very good for what she was asked to do, but she didn't have much of a character. OK, I'll stop with complaining. It's just that I have more to say about what I didn't like than about what I liked. Despite all that I enjoyed this film from start to finish, it wasn't boring, and I will always enjoy a solid thriller/horror unless it's really stupid. But I have to say, this one is not even one of the best of its genre, let alone some masterpiece it was proclaimed to be. This kind of film is usually not nominated for Oscar (regardless of its quality), so that was kind of surprising at first. Never underestimate the power of hype. I also enjoyed picking apart "homages" to other films and directors. OK, Aronofsky himself said (I think I read somewhere) that Polanski's Repulsion was a big influence. And yes I can see that, but not as much as I see Dario Argento, especially Suspiria, and Brian De Palma's Carrie. To me, Aronofsky's fanboying was pretty obvious. Phew! Who manages to read all this, gets a cookie. __________________ Last.fm

04-09-2011, 08:00 PM	#9817 (permalink)
captaincaptain I Am Become Death Metal Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Stankonia Posts: 695	Saw it last night, not too shabby. I'd give it a solid B. The thing we these time travel like movies are the inevitable plots that come to light. I saw a couple, nothing too major. Are there any time travel movies that don't have plot holes? I don't think so. The only negative I can give this movie is that it pales in comparison to Jake Gyllenhall's vastly superior "other time travel movie" (and I'm not talking about Prince of Persia). __________________ LAST.FM RYM

04-08-2011, 10:28 PM	#9811 (permalink)
~~pooka~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: the local county jail Posts: 133	i saw tangled with the kids and liked it.

04-09-2011, 03:30 PM	#9813 (permalink)
Raust Music Addict Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1,411	Oh man, no words can describe how horrible this movie was. I find it halarious how meet the parents is a trilogy now. This movie was nothing like the original, the second one had a couple of okay moments, but really not impressed. They tried to put in a bunch of "funny" parts throughout the whole film and it got really old. Doesn't even look like it was made by the same director. Just lame!

04-09-2011, 08:23 PM	#9819 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	I saw the very end of Black Swan without volume on someone else's screen on the plane, and I just have no interest at all.