Movies and TV Movies - Page 368

irishjayhawk · 10-13-2007, 11:31 PM

Yeah, so I saw a lot of movies this weekend.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Mediocre, at best. Slow and dragged on. Shorten it to 2 hours and it's golden. It's not, so it fails.

Michael Clayton - Amazing. Everything about it is awesome. However, it's VERY complex and mind bending. You have to think, so be prepared. I still feel like I'm missing key details of exactly what happened. Gotta see it again.

Across the Universe - Perfect is one word that comes to mind. It just works. And, contrary to many people I bet, the movie is best viewed sober. Trust me.

**Reaper16** · 07-22-2010, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irishjayhawk

I watched it a while ago but don't remember this. Explain?

Long story short, the film totally abuses the stereotype of the "wandering Jew." Jews are portrayed as nothing more than lascivious, criminal maleficent forces praying on the elderly and vulnerable teenage girls.

Red Brooklyn · 07-23-2010, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper16

Long story short, the film totally abuses the sterotype of the "wandering jew." Jews are protrayed as nothing more than lascivious, criminal malefescnet forces praying on the elderly and vulnerable teenage girls.

Huh....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper16

Is the character study not a viable form of cinema anymore? That is what The Hurt Locker is. The detailed character study has produced some tremendous film lately, THL and There Will Be Blood included. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if you liked TWBB and didn't like THL then you are not thinking clearly or honestly.

What would you say to those who thought The Hurt Locker was absolutely one of (if not THE best film of 2009), but that TWBB was modestly overrated and (at times) masterbatory?

The Hurt Locker was a revolation. I haven't seen Single Man yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

**Reaper16** · 07-23-2010, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Brooklyn

Huh....

What would you say to those who thought The Hurt Locker was absolutely one of (if not THE best film of 2009), but that TWBB was modestly overrated and (at times) masterbatory?

The Hurt Locker was a revolation. I haven't seen Simple Man yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

I'd PUNCH YOU IN THE BRAIN STEM, RED. Don't give me that jive.

Red Brooklyn · 07-23-2010, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper16

I'd PUNCH YOU IN THE BRAIN STEM, RED. Don't give me that jive.

irishjayhawk · 07-23-2010, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper16

Is the character study not a viable form of cinema anymore? That is what The Hurt Locker is. The detailed character study has produced some tremendous film lately, THL and There Will Be Blood included. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if you liked TWBB and didn't like THL then you are not thinking clearly or honestly.

Few moments in 2009 film, if any, were as impactful to me as the scenes of Jeremy Renner's character in THL at home. That scene of Renner preparing dinner with his wife's character is worth a trillion Inceptions to me.

I LOVE character studies but I still really don't see THL as a character study. Mainly because I see more character study moments in 5 minutes than I did in the whole of the HL. I'd even go so far to say that if I took a best-of collection of Matt Saracen in FNL, it'd lap THL many times.

An adrenaline junkie who has a family. It doesn't mean it's a character study.

Red Brooklyn · 07-23-2010, 11:44 AM

I can understand why someone wouldn't like THL. I guess. But if it's not a character study... what would you call it?

**Reaper16** · 07-23-2010, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irishjayhawk

An adrenaline junkie who has a family. It doesn't mean it's a character study.

You know when you read a post, oftentimes in the D.C. subforum, that is so off the mark that you just sit there, not typing anything, to dumbfounded to respond?

Welp,

'Hamas' Jenkins · 07-23-2010, 12:45 PM

Did anyone else catch the Nick Manning reference in Hot Tub Time Machine?

PunkinDrublic · 07-23-2010, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper16

Single Man is way better than An Education. Though I am perturbed with An Education's rampant anti-semitism. Precious is ****ing awful; UP and District 9 are both far, far superior to Precious.

I like Moniques character in precious. Bitch you think you too good for the welfare!

I think that's who Ronald Reagan was referring to specifically in his infamous welfare queen speech back in the day.

irishjayhawk · 07-23-2010, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper16

You know when you read a post, oftentimes in the D.C. subforum, that is so off the mark that you just sit there, not typing anything, to dumbfounded to respond?

Welp,

I know that feeling but I'm standing by the fact that THL isn't really a character study. And, supposing it is, it's a lame one. I will still argue that if you remove the tension, anything the movie is or offers falls apart.

irishjayhawk · 07-23-2010, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Brooklyn

I can understand why someone wouldn't like THL. I guess. But if it's not a character study... what would you call it?

I would call it a non-traditional thriller. In that the script is non-traditional and the tension is the thriller aspect.

And, Reaper, to compare DDL's Plainfield with Renner's character (blanking on the name) is laughable.

**Reaper16** · 07-23-2010, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irishjayhawk

I know that feeling but I'm standing by the fact that THL isn't really a character study. And, supposing it is, it's a lame one. I will still argue that if you remove the tension, anything the movie is or offers falls apart.

No shit; the tension is an integral part of the character.

Not that you understood what the character is. This is how much you dun goofed: Renner's character isn't an adrenaline junkie at all. He's not a thrill seeker. At all.

blaise · 07-23-2010, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irishjayhawk

I know that feeling but I'm standing by the fact that THL isn't really a character study. And, supposing it is, it's a lame one. I will still argue that if you remove the tension, anything the movie is or offers falls apart.

I haven't seen the Hurt Locker, but if you remove the tension from any movie the rest of it falls apart.

irishjayhawk · 07-23-2010, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper16

No shit; the tension is an integral part of the character.

Not that you understood what the character is. This is how much you dun goofed: Renner's character isn't an adrenaline junkie at all. He's not a thrill seeker. At all.

Do tell.

I don't see the tension as part of the character. Unless, of course, you consider the job the character and Renner an embodiment of it. Even so, it offers very little thematic punch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blaise

I haven't seen the Hurt Locker, but if you remove the tension from any movie the rest of it falls apart.

This is a special case because the tension is all it really has. A Single Man, for example, doesn't have much tension. So removing it wouldn't hurt it.

**Reaper16** · 07-23-2010, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irishjayhawk

Do tell.

I don't see the tension as part of the character. Unless, of course, you consider the job the character and Renner an embodiment of it. Even so, it offers very little thematic punch.

Best advice I can give would be to rewatch it. Something twisted your usually-precise viewing mind all up when you saw it first.

The character finds solace, peace, serenity in high-tension situations. He's not after the adrenaline, he's after the opposite (which is obv. an inversion of the adrenaline junkie character archetype). It isn't that he gets bored too easily; the beauty of the scenes where he's at home is that he is not bored at all, rather he can't handle himself. His life is haywire, his home life chaotic for him. There's also a bit of McNulty in him in that he feels most himself when he has an opponent to outsmart. Sergeant James (Renner) is defines himself in opposition to other things.

10-13-2007, 11:31 PM
irishjayhawk Feelin' Alright Join Date: Aug 2004 Casino cash: $10004900	Movies Yeah, so I saw a lot of movies this weekend. Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Mediocre, at best. Slow and dragged on. Shorten it to 2 hours and it's golden. It's not, so it fails. Michael Clayton - Amazing. Everything about it is awesome. However, it's VERY complex and mind bending. You have to think, so be prepared. I still feel like I'm missing key details of exactly what happened. Gotta see it again. Across the Universe - Perfect is one word that comes to mind. It just works. And, contrary to many people I bet, the movie is best viewed sober. Trust me.
Posts: 16,887

07-23-2010, 11:44 AM	#5511
Red Brooklyn Veteran Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY Casino cash: $8131398	I can understand why someone wouldn't like THL. I guess. But if it's not a character study... what would you call it?
Posts: 3,833

07-23-2010, 12:45 PM	#5513
'Hamas' Jenkins Now you've pissed me off! Join Date: Jan 2006 Casino cash: $8009572	Did anyone else catch the Nick Manning reference in Hot Tub Time Machine? __________________ "When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”--Abraham Lincoln
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