Jan 14, 2015

Solid predictions @captain awesome , I don't disagree with any...I just hope some of the alternatives sneak in tomorrow morning (Cotillard, Oyelowo, Fiennes, Chastain, Duvernay)

 

Jan 14, 2015

Fiennes deserves that Oscar honestly.

 

Jan 14, 2015

I hope Elswit gets a nomination for his work on Inherent Vice.

 

Jan 14, 2015

For whatever reason I recently decided I would go through Stanley Kubrick's filmography (in no particular order).

Right before Christmas I watched Eyes Wide Shut, which I hadn't seen since its initial release. Many elements in it are reminiscent of the Kubrick's strongest work. He does an undeniable job of building a dark, foreboding, unsettling atmosphere...an atmosphere so engrossing that I was left wanting to like the film more. The story is lacking, and I couldn't help feeling empty at the film's conclusion...particularly since everything gets wrapped up in a nicer and neater way than it should have been, betraying the nature of everything that proceeded it. Eyes Wide Shut remains a must-see for anyone who likes Kubrick's work, but it cannot be placed on the same tier of his finest films.

Today I watched Barry Lyndon for the first time and loved it. I have no idea how I went this long without watching it (the length surely had something to do with that). Barry Lyndon seems weirdly underrated and I'm not sure why - it's utterly gorgeous in many ways, and while its slow pace surely alienated some, it's hard not to be enamored if you like the idea of Kubrick's strengths (beautiful cinematography; cold, biting satire; a mood-setting score - just to name a few) on full display.

 

Jan 14, 2015

Both of those prolly Top 3 tho

 

Jan 14, 2015

2001
Clockwork
Eyes Wide Shut

Need to see Barry Lyndon, Lolita, Spartacus, and the rest of his pre Paths of Glory work and I'll be done with Kubrick.

 

Jan 14, 2015

You'd have Barry Lyndon/Eyes Wide Shut over A Clockwork Orange?

 

Jan 14, 2015

yeah prolly

 

Jan 14, 2015

Barry Lyndon and Eyes Wide Shot are underrated among Stanley Kubrick's films.

 

Jan 14, 2015

no way Eyes Wide Shut is better than Clockwork, wtf

 

Jan 14, 2015

 

Jan 14, 2015

Barry Lyndon is top 3 fasho

 

Jan 14, 2015

yeah it was incredible!

 

Jan 15, 2015

To be honest, this is what bothers me about the voting. I want Boyhood to win, but this is because the film is much much more of an achievement than merely one of endurance and scale. Sure, the length of time added to its magic, its sincere presence of time and its passing, but the film's artistic and literary merit should be judged besides this.

While I'm already in a post, forget the last movies thread...

• 
  The Young Girls of Rochefort 1967
  ★★★★★ Rewatched 14 Jan, 2015
  
  Chance and serendipity mingle as visual choreography in Demy's final masterpiece, a French Singin' in the Rain.
  
  90/100 - Amazing
  (Criterion Bluray)
  
  
• 
  The Umbrellas of Cherbourg 1964
  ★★★★★ Rewatched 14 Jan, 2015
  
  Demy's rich mise en scene dazzles as the camera dances in long takes around the singing characters. Joy.
  
  90/100 - Amazing
  (Criterion Bluray)
  
  
• 
  Bay of Angels 1963
  ★★★★½ Watched 14 Jan, 2015
  
  Demy's poetry of chance made tangible in the spinning of a roulette wheel, the characters' path determined by whim.
  
  85/100 - Excellent
  (Criterion Bluray)
  
  
• 
  Inherent Vice 2014
  ★★★★ Watched 13 Jan, 2015
  
  Denotations of the self. Enter the rabbit hole. We are subject to the inherent confusions & delusions of a mind in excess.
  
  83/100 - Great
  (Cinema)
  
  
• 
  Selma 2014
  ★★★½ Watched 13 Jan, 2015
  
  An inspiring if formally unoriginal depiction of resilience and perseverance in face of the inhumane. Oyelowo is fantastic.
  
  74/100 - Good
  (Cinema)
  

 

Jan 15, 2015

I love the horror dialogue happening in here, though I know very little about the genre. One film which I don't see mentioned, though, is Kobayashi's Kwaidan. This film influenced so much of Japanese Horror from 1964 onwards. I also really like Brainscan with Edward Furlong, though I might be the only one lol

 

Jan 15, 2015

I will check that out!

Also, if y'all have a strong stomach and ever get the chance to watch Martyrs, I would LOVE to know what you guys think about that. It's without a doubt one of the most polarizing films I've ever seen and probably the one film I would recommend above everything else on my list.

French horror stays winning.

 

Jan 15, 2015

I liked your post for the formatting alone. @FilmAndWhisky

How does everybody feel about Armond White?

I've been reading his reviews and can't decide whether his socio-political lense is refreshing or snake oil. Not to mention the openly critical reviews he gives films that don't align with his specific spiritual or philosophical principles. Nihilism is a contemporary ideology, no more thematically invalid than any other. Sorry the world changed in the 30 years since you started writing. Even after disregarding the obvious troll bait, he rubs me the wrong way. His closed minded masturbation reminds me of these lines from The Master: "Good science by definition allows for more than one opinion, doesn't it? Otherwise you merely have the will of one man. Which is the basis of cult. Is it not?" Soliciting provocation with empty gestures is his nature as well as the target of his witch hunt. The emperor wears no clothes.

And I thought Ed Gonzalez over at Slant was a contrarian. Pshhh.

 

Jan 15, 2015

so i did the following to your account
1- i enabled profanity language since it was turned off for some reason on your account
2- i disabled auto watch threads with emails..it was enabled and it would be super annoying
3- i sent you serious points because your formatting and posts are the s---

 

Jan 15, 2015

I would but it's in Turkish. Sorry.

Oh, good essay. Dracula looked like it had much to mine and I still had to keep it short. There is still a lot to talk about in terms of Dracula adaptations. It's a text with a lot of subtext and it's interesting to see how they get to shine or never even acknowledged in different adaptations.

 

Jan 15, 2015

Most Predictable Oscars of all time?

I thinks so.