ahh...gotcha. i did not like american beauty cause it was boring, and i found the artsy attempt about it to be stupid and overdramatic. and i guess watching it on a 10 hour flight doesn't help either... </strong><hr></blockquote>
American Beauty was a shallow psuedo-art film that pandered to the middle-class, middle-brow idea of what "good" film , good drama, and serious art ought to be.
It had all the earmarks necessary for "drama": and it congratulated its audience for recognizing those obviouse and facile markers.
and, it was also sexist: celebrating the immature regression of the male lead while denigrating his wife in all her manifestations: first of all, blaming her, implicitly, for his need to "break Free", seeing her as a jail keeper, and then seeing her as two faced and shallow, when in fact it is the leads regression to his high school ideal that is shallow
anyway, I saw it when it first came out so I can't remember that much . . .
You know with any other title I wouldn't have liked the film, which is, as you note, massively indulgent, but it really is "American" beauty. America is obsessed with the juvenile ideal of freedom and bravery everywhere and anywhere we turn in the pop-art world, whether we're talking John Cougar's "Glory days," or "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."
Seen for what it is, it's not bad, and quite honest about itself.
[quote]I just saw Citizen Kane last week. It does come off "old" but I think I get it. The audio commentary helps. <hr></blockquote>
citizen kane was groundbreaking because it was the first movie to successfully tell a story in a nonlinear fashion which has become commonplace since then. (pulp fiction for example)
american graffiti was another one for it's use of music, wall to wall, almost every movie aimed toward young people does the same thing now. but at the time it was unique.
I just recently resaw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid . . .
Scott, when was the last time that you saw that movie . . . I couldn't help but hate it this time around . . . it reeked so much of the time it was made: the mid 70s, when 'outlaws' were romanticized as somehow being progressive . . .
and lots of people were getting killed by them . . . for instance in the last shoot-out in Bolivia . . . and I'm supposed to care for these two thugs?!?!
Kinda surprises me that you don't see the heavy lefty/outlaw/romanticism from the 70s in that film . . .
Besides, that there were some good scenes. . . . hell Walter Murch worked on that film . . . he is THE 'merican Master . . . not sure in what capacity... perhaps as editor . . . but nonetheless he is still the master . . particularly of Sound . .
AND, with his new project he is using Final Cut Pro!!
fite club, and usual suspects i thot were good, cuz they surprised me. i also liked fc's particularly antiestablishment rhetoric.
i also liked rekweum4a dream, and trainspotting, mainly for their excessive drug use.
one movie that i thought was absolutely rancid was Dusk til Dawn. i thot it'd b good, with keitel and tarantino. it started out decently, and i thought they were gonna explore the psyche of the pair of crooks a bit more, but they ended up killing vampires for what seemed like hours. i was disgusted at all humanity for days after seeing that one.
[quote]Originally posted by superkaratemonkeydeathcar:
<strong>
ouch that might be the biggest slam to bruce springsteen ever.........</strong><hr></blockquote>
AHAHAHA!!! OMG! <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> I was between "Jack and Diane" and "Glory Days" when I changed my mind mid stream and forgot to go back, Ooops! but you get the point I think.
[quote] American Beauty was a shallow psuedo-art film that pandered to the middle-class, middle-brow idea of what "good" film , good drama, and serious art ought to be. <hr></blockquote>
Feck off, you probably wouldn't know art if it took a big shit on your head.
A movie may not be done as well as it could have been, and critics may not like it. Yet such a movie can still make an impact. I did not see these two listed:
WOW, that's seriously one of he worst lists I've ever read. Mr hollands opus? ick, ick ick! How on earth can you justify like that piece of carp? Black HAwk down? A once true story. ugh, I'm going to faint. Somebody help, The bourne identity? Oh god are you in need of cinematic rehabilitation.
Get thee to a video store. Start with "Life is Beautiful" in Italian with sub-titles, none of this voice over crap. Then get thyself "Our Lady of the Assasins" and "Before Night falls" for starters. Watch them. Learn what good films do. Then, get three Hamlet's, Zefferelli (Mel Gibson to you) Branagh, and Olivier. OK, that's over ten hours of the brooding prince. Hint, one of them is crap, and it's not the Mel Gibson version.
If you pass this test you may feel free to rent "Amelie", "Run Lola Run", and "For Rosanna" just to keep things contemporary. To learn something about what beautiful images look like, rent Baraka or for an easy documentary you might be able to get your head around watch "When We were Kings."
And excpet for Olivier I haven't even touched the Golden era of film. Good films do get made even today, only none of them are on your list. Scary.
It occurs to me that you're looking for some sort of moral lesson in this thread, I suppose you could rent, "Babe" <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[oyvey]" />
PS, if you must like crap at least like good crap, ie "Blade Runner" as opposed to "AI" -- which was crap and not in any way good. The original start wars films as opposed to epi-sod 1 and 2, you get the idea...
now matsu...one scary is enough...i wouldn't agree with his list much, but those are the ones he likes...it is good that you gave him some other options to grow and learn....
amelie is great: so is Life is Beautiful and Run Lola Run
Pleasantville... I had the opportunity to watch it with the directors' commentary. A lot of thought and effort went into making that movie... Almost everything you could imagine was carefully planned...
Dark City (I think I got that right) Watched it with Ebrets' commentary (I think). He and a class of 300 movie students or so dissected the movie over the course of a weekend, and he included the resulting comments... Wow...
And, halfway between the 'good & evil', a movie which makes you curl and twitch if you are a guy (well, maybe not thegelding, I don't know how much feeling he has left there...)...
The road to Wellville... I can't believe thay had all those nifty (if of questionable use) gadgets... And massaging the, well... you get the picture... Mathew Broderik in the land of Corn Flakes... Gotta watch it.
Comments
<strong>
ahh...gotcha. i did not like american beauty cause it was boring, and i found the artsy attempt about it to be stupid and overdramatic. and i guess watching it on a 10 hour flight doesn't help either... </strong><hr></blockquote>
American Beauty was a shallow psuedo-art film that pandered to the middle-class, middle-brow idea of what "good" film , good drama, and serious art ought to be.
It had all the earmarks necessary for "drama": and it congratulated its audience for recognizing those obviouse and facile markers.
and, it was also sexist: celebrating the immature regression of the male lead while denigrating his wife in all her manifestations: first of all, blaming her, implicitly, for his need to "break Free", seeing her as a jail keeper, and then seeing her as two faced and shallow, when in fact it is the leads regression to his high school ideal that is shallow
anyway, I saw it when it first came out so I can't remember that much . . .
Seen for what it is, it's not bad, and quite honest about itself.
[ 02-09-2003: Message edited by: Matsu ]</p>
Donnie Darko - Original and dark. Me likes.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
AntiTrust - One of the more tech-accurate Hollywood movies
The Salton Sea - Dug the twist in this one
Memento - See above
Ravenous - Very well done with a unique soundtrack
Dark City
The 13th Floor
Dawn of the Dead - A Romero zombie classic
Dead Alive - The lawnmower scene wins this one over for me..heh
Edit: I also liked No Mans Land
[ 02-09-2003: Message edited by: SeanM ]
[ 02-10-2003: Message edited by: SeanM ]</p>
Moral...
Meaning...
I think some of you are missing the point of this thread. <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />
Taxi Driver
Butch Casidy and the Sundance Kid
The Candidate
Citizen Kane
I just saw Citizen Kane last week. It does come off "old" but I think I get it. The audio commentary helps.
many others...
ouch that might be the biggest slam to bruce springsteen ever.........
citizen kane was groundbreaking because it was the first movie to successfully tell a story in a nonlinear fashion which has become commonplace since then. (pulp fiction for example)
american graffiti was another one for it's use of music, wall to wall, almost every movie aimed toward young people does the same thing now. but at the time it was unique.
[ 02-09-2003: Message edited by: superkaratemonkeydeathcar ]</p>
Scott, when was the last time that you saw that movie . . . I couldn't help but hate it this time around . . . it reeked so much of the time it was made: the mid 70s, when 'outlaws' were romanticized as somehow being progressive . . .
and lots of people were getting killed by them . . . for instance in the last shoot-out in Bolivia . . . and I'm supposed to care for these two thugs?!?!
Kinda surprises me that you don't see the heavy lefty/outlaw/romanticism from the 70s in that film . . .
Besides, that there were some good scenes. . . . hell Walter Murch worked on that film . . . he is THE 'merican Master . . . not sure in what capacity... perhaps as editor . . . but nonetheless he is still the master . . particularly of Sound . .
AND, with his new project he is using Final Cut Pro!!
[ 02-09-2003: Message edited by: pfflam ]</p>
i also liked rekweum4a dream, and trainspotting, mainly for their excessive drug use.
one movie that i thought was absolutely rancid was Dusk til Dawn. i thot it'd b good, with keitel and tarantino. it started out decently, and i thought they were gonna explore the psyche of the pair of crooks a bit more, but they ended up killing vampires for what seemed like hours. i was disgusted at all humanity for days after seeing that one.
And The Usual Suspects...
<strong>
ouch that might be the biggest slam to bruce springsteen ever.........</strong><hr></blockquote>
AHAHAHA!!! OMG! <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> I was between "Jack and Diane" and "Glory Days" when I changed my mind mid stream and forgot to go back, Ooops! but you get the point I think.
<strong>American Beauty is not good. The Big Lebowski is classic.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Amen to that.
Cracks me up everytime I watch it.
Feck off, you probably wouldn't know art if it took a big shit on your head.
The Count of Monte Cristo
Amadeus
1. The Man in the Iron Mask-fell through the cracks in the Leo Titanic hype.
2. Girl Interrupted
3. Saving Private Ryan
4. Blackhawk Down
5. Office Space
6. Boondock Saints-I've heard of it, and loved the story
7. Bourne Identlty
8. Most 007
9. A Beautiful Mind
10. The Green Mile
11. Mr Holland's Opus
12. The Patriot (w/Gibson)
[ 02-09-2003: Message edited by: PowerMatt ]
[ 02-09-2003: Message edited by: PowerMatt ]</p>
Get thee to a video store. Start with "Life is Beautiful" in Italian with sub-titles, none of this voice over crap. Then get thyself "Our Lady of the Assasins" and "Before Night falls" for starters. Watch them. Learn what good films do. Then, get three Hamlet's, Zefferelli (Mel Gibson to you) Branagh, and Olivier. OK, that's over ten hours of the brooding prince. Hint, one of them is crap, and it's not the Mel Gibson version.
If you pass this test you may feel free to rent "Amelie", "Run Lola Run", and "For Rosanna" just to keep things contemporary. To learn something about what beautiful images look like, rent Baraka or for an easy documentary you might be able to get your head around watch "When We were Kings."
And excpet for Olivier I haven't even touched the Golden era of film. Good films do get made even today, only none of them are on your list. Scary.
PS, if you must like crap at least like good crap, ie "Blade Runner" as opposed to "AI" -- which was crap and not in any way good. The original start wars films as opposed to epi-sod 1 and 2, you get the idea...
amelie is great: so is Life is Beautiful and Run Lola Run
Aguirre: The Wraith of God...in german
for fun
High Fidelity
Raising Arizona
office space is great though
g
[ 02-10-2003: Message edited by: thegelding ]</p>
Dark City (I think I got that right) Watched it with Ebrets' commentary (I think). He and a class of 300 movie students or so dissected the movie over the course of a weekend, and he included the resulting comments... Wow...
And, halfway between the 'good & evil', a movie which makes you curl and twitch if you are a guy (well, maybe not thegelding, I don't know how much feeling he has left there...)...
The road to Wellville... I can't believe thay had all those nifty (if of questionable use) gadgets... And massaging the, well... you get the picture... Mathew Broderik in the land of Corn Flakes... Gotta watch it.
[ 02-10-2003: Message edited by: nosey ]</p>