The cinema thread

[Fuuma]

Re: Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second: The cinema thread

I'm rewatching Alien resurrection (the fourth one) special edition from the Alien quadrilogy box set (what the fuck did they invent a new word when tetralogy already exists, anybody can clue me in!!??). I hadn't really watched any of these movies since the box came out so I'm pretty stocked that they seem to have aged pretty well. Anyone has good sci-fi suggestion? I don't watch many new releases so there might have been a couple that I missed that have some potential. I tend to prefer cyber-punk/dystopian stuff a-la bladerunner and Alien to other genres.

[Faust]

Re: Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second: The cinema thread

I haven't seen a good sci-fi film in in ages. Anime is better for that, although I much prefer an actual film. Have you seen Dark City? It's kinda funky.

[gusgusterson]

Re: Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second: The cinema thread

Robocop, seriously. I liked Serenity, but then I also watched every episode of Firefly in one sitting.

[nycd]

Re: Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second: The cinema thread

I second the recommendation for Serenity - but, definitely, watch all of the Firefly episodes before.



In one sitting.



Really.

[ddohnggo]

Re: Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second: The cinema thread

has anyone seen the new coen brothers film 'no country for old men'? i'm going to see it this weekend and it looks pretty awesome.

[laika]

Re: Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second: The cinema thread

^is that based on a Cormac McCarthy book? I saw some one reading the novel on the subway, but I couldn't see the author's name...

[mass]

Re: Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second: The cinema thread

by the way i recommend (seriously) the van damme film 'cyborg'. interesting fact; the director albert pyun studied under kurosawa (of the akira variety) and was mentored by mifune and kurosawa's dp. anyway he was apparently in simultaneous pre-production of a spiderman movie as well as a sequel to masters of the universe when the production company ran out of money and both projects were cut short. he ended up using the already completed sets and costumes for both of the movies and made this.

[Faust]

Re: Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second: The cinema thread

[quote user="Faust"]

[quote user="gusgusterson"]Suffered through Old Boy last week. All the debauchery, none of the emotional appeal. Oh and it was painfully stupid. I like Ken Loach films for the "this is not going to end well" raw mire because he brings a human element to the suffering. I don't think that's put well, but I'd rather watch Hostel than Lilija 4-ever and I wouldn't watch either. I constantly wonder if I can be interested in film and a bit of a prude simultaneously.
[/quote]</p>

But, what is the effect of seeing that human suffering on a viewer sitting comfortably in a art-film theater in Soho? That's what I am asking. </p>

I like Loach's films, too. I thought Sweet Sixteen was a really great film, and the Wind That Shakes the Barley, too. However, they don't hit you over your head with a hammer, the way Lilija 4-ever does.</p>

[/quote]</p>

</p>

A.O.Scott raises the same question in his review for "Reducted."
</p>


"...This horrific, premeditated act ? the rape of a teenage girl, who is
killed along with her family ? is based on a real atrocity that took
place in Iraq last year. (The insurgent bomb and the beheading that
frame this episode are also, obviously, grounded in reality.) The rape
also recalls ?Casualties of War,?
Mr. De Palma?s grievously misunderstood 1989 film about a similar
incident in Vietnam. Both films walk a delicate line between moral
investigation and exploitative sensationalism, and in both cases the
measure of Mr. De Palma?s artistic seriousness is his willingness to
ask not only what it means to take part in an act of murderous sexual
violence, but also what it means to represent it and to watch the
representation. </p>


The problem with ?Redacted? is that the representation is an
unwieldy hodgepodge of brutal naturalism and self-conscious
theatricality, its potential power undermined by schematic storytelling
and clumsy acting. What those handheld, low-definition recording
devices capture is less unvarnished reality ? or a persuasive
simulacrum of it ? than dinner theater or underrehearsed
made-for-television drama. </p>


The script stuffs the characters? mouths with talking points
that are no less schematic for being rendered in a profane, macho,
pseudomilitary vernacular. And most of the actors, many of them
appearing for the first time in a feature film, lack either the skill
or the directorial guidance to endow their characters with a full range
of credible motives and responses. </p>


Its formal novelty aside, ?Redacted? rarely hits the audience
with a genuine shock or a clarifying insight. It churns through a set
of ideas and emotions that are confusing and unpleasant, to be sure,
but also, by now, dispiritingly familiar. This is not entirely Mr. De
Palma?s fault, though I think he may have misdiagnosed the condition of
the audience, which is not lack of information about Iraq but rather a
pervasive moral and political paralysis. The information is out there ?
confusing and painful, yes, but nonetheless available for discussion
and analysis. </p>


And now what? What are we supposed to do? Support the troops?
End the war? Push ahead to victory? Stand up for what we believe? These
are slogans, not actions.</p>


Making a movie, of course, is a way of doing something, and I
am grateful that Mr. De Palma brought such conviction to the task.
?Redacted? is certainly a painful document of its time, a record of
anguish, confusion and uncertainty. And if Mr. De Palma has in the end
failed to transcend those feelings or to address them with the clarity
and freshness of perspective that art requires and that the times so
desperately demand, the failure is hardly his alone."</p>

</p>

[tony]

Re: Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second: The cinema thread

science de rêves

[sam_tem]

Re: Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second: The cinema thread



this is england</P>


really well done movie and the casting, clothing, and locations were all great, but that's of course because this subject matter is very autobiographical for shane meadows. I've only seen this and his dead man's shoes film and after making this movie i thinkit's definitely time for shane meadows to start branching out and attempt something that is isn't so close to home or he's never going to make his mark. I'm not fond of how he builds things up and then emotionally shocks the audience. After using the same formula on his past two films it just feels a little trite at this point.</P>

[Faust]

Re: Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second: The cinema thread



Bourne Identity [83]</p>

I got it to test out the prowess of my HD DVD player. All I can say is "Whoa!" [:|]</p>

[Faust]

Re: Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second: The cinema thread



[quote user="Fuuma"]I'm rewatching Alien resurrection (the fourth one) special edition from the Alien quadrilogy box set (what the fuck did they invent a new word when tetralogy already exists, anybody can clue me in!!??). I hadn't really watched any of these movies since the box came out so I'm pretty stocked that they seem to have aged pretty well. Anyone has good sci-fi suggestion? I don't watch many new releases so there might have been a couple that I missed that have some potential. I tend to prefer cyber-punk/dystopian stuff a-la bladerunner and Alien to other genres.[/quote]</p>

I Am Legend looks pretty good, no?
</p>

[interman]

Re: Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second: The cinema thread

Just watched Control. Great stuff, though I'm a fairly big Joy Division fan. Definitely recommended.

[ddohnggo]

Re: Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second: The cinema thread

saw 'no country for old men' last week and it's easily the best movie i've seen this year. mind you i haven't seen too many new movies this year anyways, but it was awesome. i feel like i need to watch it again in order to find all of the themes and subtleties that the film had. A++++++++++++

[philip nod]

Re: Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second: The cinema thread

i think Murnau's Sunrise, his first american film which won the first academy award for best film in 1929, under the category of unique and artistic production, is my favorite film of all time. surely the best film of 20's and the silent film era, despite the fact that the film was a commercial bust.