Judo Chop Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) Sure. But Spielberg could nevertheless have told this story with less pomposity, with a greater human element. The story of "The List" is still the story of people. But Spielberg struggles to deal with these characters. When I remember SCHINDLER'S LIST, I don't remember the people. The images and moments I remember aren't particularly character-driven. They're the moments where the film touches on the broader, more iconically "Holocaust" moments, like the trains and showers and camps and the piles of burning bodies (and the "red coat" girl), and because those moments receive more power than the quieter, more character-based moments of the story, it doesn't really feel like a story about these people, or just the list, as it does about the Holocaust itself. Aside from the obvious difficulty in taking the time to create quiet character-based moments for 600 people as just a SMALL point of defense for Spielberg (he could have picked out a few ‘random’ souls from the list to build upon of course) your point is taken. Tho’ I really need to see it again before I can totally agree. I know you’ll lose many hours sleep until I do, so I’ll try to hurry. Edited January 26, 2011 by Judo Chop Quote I'm not drinking alone. I'm drinking with the Lord. Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Arkadin Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Aside from the obvious difficulty in taking the time to create quiet character-based moments for 600 people as just a SMALL point of defense for Spielberg (he could have picked out a few ‘random’ souls from the list to build upon of course) your point is taken. Tho’ I really need to see it again before I can totally agree. I know you’ll lose many hours sleep until I do, so I’ll try to hurry. Oh, I'll be tossing and turning over it. Though I do wish to say that I don't regard SCHINDLER'S LIST as a bad film. Some people villify it. I don't. I just don't think it's All That. Quote I've Seen That Movie Too Link to post Share on other sites
mrmando Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Moulin Rouge. Bloody awful. Can't watch it. Quote Let's Carl the whole thing Orff!Do you know the deep dark secret of the avatars?It's big. It's fat. It's Greek. Link to post Share on other sites
Tyler Posted January 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Moulin Rouge. Bloody awful. Can't watch it. The first five minutes were kind of fun in a hyperactive music video sort of way. But yeah, after that it gave me a headache. Quote It's the side effects that save us. --The National, "Graceless"Twitter Blog Link to post Share on other sites
mrmando Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 I've mentioned this before, but I went to Astoria, Oregon, last summer for the first annual Tenor Guitar Convention, and it happened to be the same weekend as the 25th anniversary Goonies celebration. The town was overrun with Never Say Die T-shirts. Quote Let's Carl the whole thing Orff!Do you know the deep dark secret of the avatars?It's big. It's fat. It's Greek. Link to post Share on other sites
Ron Reed Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Into Great Silence. Cannot make it through...just...boring. More sleep inducinging than Star Trek Nemesis... Probably the first time Into Great Silence has been compared to Star Trek Nemesis. Definitely the first time it has been compared unfavorably. There Will Be Blood did nothing for me. Sideways? Blech. I'm going to try Citizen Kane yet again, but so far.... Blah. Most of the critics in the world seem to think The Ghost Writer was something special, but I thought it was laughably bad. Quote I've posted a couple hundred of my Soul Food Movies write-ups at letterboxd Link to post Share on other sites
Tyler Posted January 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) Into Great Silence. Cannot make it through...just...boring. More sleep inducinging than Star Trek Nemesis... I didn't make it through Into Great Silence the first time I tried watching it. I lasted around half an hour. But since so many people around here loved it, I gave it another chance a few months later. I knew what I was getting into that time, so I'd prepared myself for it, and I ended up really liking it. The same thing happened with Yi Yi, incidentally. The problem there, though, was also that I had trouble keeping all of the characters straight. Edited January 28, 2011 by Tyler Quote It's the side effects that save us. --The National, "Graceless"Twitter Blog Link to post Share on other sites
M. Leary Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Most of the critics in the world seem to think The Ghost Writer was something special, but I thought it was laughably bad. I didn't get the love for this one either, Ron. Quote "...the vivid crossing of borders between film and theology may save the film from the banality of cinema and festival business, and it may also save the church from the deep sleep of the habitual and the always known." (Hans Werner Dannowski) Filmwell | Twitter Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Most of the critics in the world seem to think The Ghost Writer was something special, but I thought it was laughably bad. I didn't get the love for this one either, Ron. I'm very relieved to read this. I was starting to doubt my sanity (well, more than usual). Quote To be an artist is never to avert one's eyes. - Akira Kurosawa https://www.patheos.com/blogs/secularcinephile/ Link to post Share on other sites
Ron Reed Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Into Great Silence. Cannot make it through...just...boring. More sleep inducinging than Star Trek Nemesis... I didn't make it through Into Great Silence the first time I tried watching it. I lasted around half an hour. But since so many people around here loved it, I gave it another chance a few months later. I knew what I was getting into that time, so I'd prepared myself for it, and I ended up really liking it. I think you need to approach Into Great Silence as you would a visit to to monastery. If you expect an experience that will meet you where you're at, match the rhythms and expectations you bring with you from the street, boredom is the only possible response. (Unless you live on a very quiet street.) But if you go in prepared and expecting to to recalibrate your insides with the pace and purpose of the monastery - which really is the whole point - it can be transformative. Maybe that was your problem with Star Trek Nemesis. You weren't inwardly prepared for a journey to the planet of the Romulans. Look not to the film, Grasshopper, but to your own soul... Quote I've posted a couple hundred of my Soul Food Movies write-ups at letterboxd Link to post Share on other sites
Brian D Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Forrest Gump. Green Mile. Benjamin Button. Slumdog Millionaire. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thom Wade Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 (edited) Into Great Silence. Cannot make it through...just...boring. More sleep inducinging than Star Trek Nemesis... Probably the first time Into Great Silence has been compared to Star Trek Nemesis. Definitely the first time it has been compared unfavorably. I totally aim to mystify. There Will Be Blood did nothing for me. Sideways? Blech. I'm going to try Citizen Kane yet again, but so far.... Blah. I agree...I get why it's revered...but I can only admore the technicalities...the actual film doesn't do anything for me. Maybe that was your problem with Star Trek Nemesis. You weren't inwardly prepared for a journey to the planet of the Romulans. Look not to the film, Grasshopper, but to your own soul... Naw. I am pretty sure it was just really bad. I mean, seriously...the Resident Evil movies are better that ST: Nemesis. Edited January 29, 2011 by Nezpop Quote "You know...not EVERY story has to be interesting." -Gibby Link to post Share on other sites
Ron Reed Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 I'm going to try Citizen Kane yet again, but so far.... Blah. I agree...I get why it's revered...but I can only admore the technicalities...the actual film doesn't do anything for me. Well, Nez, I think we've done it. Reading back through the thread, I find post #44, where Bowen writes "I can be beaten though: All we need is someone to stand up and say: "Citizen Kane? Long and dull." By George, I think we've done it. Quote I've posted a couple hundred of my Soul Food Movies write-ups at letterboxd Link to post Share on other sites
John Drew Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 (edited) Terms of Endearment As someone who has lost loved ones to cancer, this film has always felt hollow. That's not to say there aren't films about cancer that have moved me (Brian's Song, for one), but this one just didn't do much for me. Edited January 29, 2011 by Baal_T'shuvah Quote Formerly Baal_T'shuvah "Everyone has the right to make an ass out of themselves. You just can't let the world judge you too much." - Maude Harold and Maude Link to post Share on other sites
theoddone33 Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 (edited) Biggest one for me in this category is Before Sunrise. One of the most shallow relationships ever depicted onscreen, but people fawn over it. Also Dancer in the Dark. And reading back through the thread I have to say The Ice Storm as well. After that and Lust Caution I think I'm done with Ang Lee. Edit 2: Grave of the Fireflies also. I guess I have a lot of these... Edited January 30, 2011 by theoddone33 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Arkadin Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Also Dancer in the Dark. That movie received its fair share of venom, didn't it? Quote I've Seen That Movie Too Link to post Share on other sites
Ron Reed Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 And reading back through the thread I have to say The Ice Storm as well. After that and Lust Caution I think I'm done with Ang Lee. The Ice Storm left me cold, as well. But can you really bail on Ang? He is to directing what a character actor is to performance: he's a chameleon. Sense and Sensibility. Eat Drink Man Woman. Quote I've posted a couple hundred of my Soul Food Movies write-ups at letterboxd Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Arkadin Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 He is to directing what a character actor is to performance: he's a chameleon. Certainly. It's hard to pin him down, and that makes it hard to write him off. That said, as much as Lee's willingness and ability to adopt many different guises is remarkable, he's rarely as successful as I'd like him to be. But I love CROUCHING TIGER. Quote I've Seen That Movie Too Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Brown Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 (edited) Inception - I wanted it to be great, but just found it to be quite boring. It's got a lot of dull performances, in my opinion, and some bad dialogue through out. Hans Zimmer, as usual, made a mess of a score, too. Saving Private Ryan - Used to love this during my Spielberg fanboy days. Now I can't stand to watch it. After the Normandy sequence, it takes a nose-dive. Toy Story 3 - I just didn't see what was so special about this film. Burn After Reading - I enjoy the Coen Brothers, but just couldn't get into this film. It does have its moments, however. Overall, I just don't find it entirely satisfying. Avatar - Funniest scene: Stephen Lang fighting in the robot suit. Edited January 30, 2011 by Mr. Brown Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ron Reed Posted January 31, 2011 Report Share Posted January 31, 2011 Inception - I wanted it to be great, but just found it to be quite boring. It's got a lot of dull performances, in my opinion, and some bad dialogue through out. Hans Zimmer, as usual, made a mess of a score, too. I'm with you, Mr B. Clever - too clever? - and without heart. I was surprised about Little Miss Juno - she was always a marvel of natural presence, but here she seemed self-conscious and a tad actorish. I've seen that shift in child actors as they grow into self-awareness, but Ellen Page? I felt so bad for her. Quote I've posted a couple hundred of my Soul Food Movies write-ups at letterboxd Link to post Share on other sites
Ambler Posted February 2, 2011 Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 (edited) INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. A vicious and stupid film loved by many. Also There Will Be Blood. My arse. And as for No Country for Old Men, I can only assume its advocates have never seen Charley Varrick: one hundredth the cost and one hundred times better. (Business as normal in the church of Don Siegel.) All three of the offending films are far too long and unbelievably tedious, but only Inglourious Misspelt Basterds left an indelible impression on me. I'm not normally in favour of lobotomy but it may be the only way I'll feel clean again. Edited February 2, 2011 by Ambler Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J.A.A. Purves Posted February 2, 2011 Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. A vicious and stupid film loved by many ... only Inglourious Misspelt Basterds left an indelible impression on me. I'm not normally in favour of lobotomy but it may be the only way I'll feel clean again. ... and hated by many. I personally loved it, but if I remember right, the discussion on it here grew pretty intense at times. Quote Redemptio Sehnsucht. Cincinnatus's Ploughshare. Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Arkadin Posted February 2, 2011 Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 Yeah. It didn't exactly go over well at Cannes. Quote I've Seen That Movie Too Link to post Share on other sites
eriknaydiuk Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 The biggest one that comes to mind is Hook. Also American Beauty, Forrest Gump, and several others that have already been mentioned. I remember hating Fight Club, but I haven't seen it since early high school, so I'd be more than willing to revisit that one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eriknaydiuk Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Also Despicable Me. Everyone I talked to about it said it was great, it received overall positive reviews, but when I watched it I didn't really care for it at all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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