Apr 27, 2015 Lumet's book on making films is a really easy and insightful read for anybody interested.
Apr 28, 2015 NCFOM. Anton Chigurh is such a GOAT villain. Every scene he's in is memorable. And I might be a little biased towards the Coen Brothers. I love everything they do. I do need to sit down and watch TWBB again though. I haven't seen it in a long time and I think on my last watch I still didn't fully get it. I've watched bits and pieces since then though and loved what I saw.
Apr 28, 2015 Ultimatum is a masterpiece. I actually think it's better than TWBB... Sidney Lumet is great. Leave it to him to get someone like Vin Diesel to deliver such a charming performance in Find Me Guilty(although I've always thought Diesel to be a bit underrated as an actor anyway).
Apr 28, 2015 I kind of figured as much. Bruh, if you're looking for someone who thinks everything PTA does is amazing, I'm not the guy. There is not one movie he's done that I've loved. I appreciate TWBB more than I like watching it. Ultimatum though... there isn't one action spy film before or after that is as masterfully crafted.
Apr 28, 2015 My problem, if you can call it that, isn't that you don't like PTA or There Will Be Blood, I'm just baffled as to why you hold The Bourne Ultimatum in such high regard. As I mentioned, I've seen it within the last two weeks (the 15th to be exact) and although I had a great time with it, I can't say I remember much from it at all.
Apr 28, 2015 Though both are fantastic films, I'm a huge fan of both Cormac McCarthy and media that explores existentialism (plus I like dark humor and the Coens in general), so I personally prefer No Country For Old Men. No Country is something I can watch any time, I gotta be in the right mood to sit down and take everything in for There Will Be Blood. Someone once pointed out to me that, if these two movies swapped titles, they'd probably be a more accurate descriptor of their content, which was surprisingly on point.
Apr 28, 2015 If you watched the movie and can't see what's special about it, then I'm not sure there's anything I can say to change your mind, but I'll give it a shot. I hold the original Bourne Trilogy in high regard for plenty of reasons. The most obvious one to me is the humanity of it. It's not a brutish trilogy. Its action is heightened, but always grounded because of the characters, which the actors play as realistically as possible. The tension is always high and palpable because the movies can play their cards without seeming over the top. Bourne is never portrayed as a super hero as he easily could have been. He's portrayed simply as a normal guy who just happened to be an assassin in a former life and Matt Damon was the perfect choice for the role. Damon naturally comes off as normal despite being a famous actor. And all of the characters that could have seemed like archetypes in different hands, are all portrayed as real people, rather than caricatures. The direction in all three films(Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass) is both frantic and personal, giving shaky cam solid reasons why its a credible filmmaking technique(though it's been copied terribly by others). The action by itself could have carried these films, but instead the filmmakers give it something that most other films and franchises of its kind never do. Authenticity. The Bourne Ultimatum though, takes everything about the previous two films, and perfects them. It's the pinnacle of what the genre it resides in can be.
Apr 28, 2015 I see where you're coming from, but I can't agree with much of this. Action wise, nothing in Ultimatum is as urgent or intense as anything in Supremacy, and I've found that all three of the main Bourne films each take turns at doing something great without those things being woven together into one film to create a complete film that is truly great in itself. Identity tells the best story, Supremacy has the best action, and Ultimatum has pieces of what I just mentioned with a polish that is sorely needed for modern day action films. All that brings me to my main overarching problem with the franchise - Jason Bourne himself. You mention how he seems like a normal guy, but aside from the last ten minutes or so of Supremacy, his character is completely soulless. I have no idea how somebody could connect themselves to him as there's no vulnerability, personality, or life to him at all. Apart from Matt Damon sort of looking like your average dude and keeping his gadget usage grounded (he's kind of the anti-James Bond) he's not really normal at all. He's not Superman, nor your average dude... he just kind of is what he is. But I couldn't name five Spy Action movies off the top of my head so maybe I'm just not the target demographic for these types of films.
Apr 28, 2015 Lol. d---. Our perspectives are on a completely different side of the spectrum. This discussion is gonna end up as an "immoveable object meets an unstoppable force" scenario. I'm just gonna refer to my original post. Agree to disagree bruh.
Apr 30, 2015 y? jc -- was just talking with a coworker who RLY hates pt anderson. made me rethink of the 'instant legend' status we've bestowed. -- something about tarantino's voice still irks me. its not the usual stamp of an auteur rly -- all his films have a live action comic book flair that undercuts other (usually strong) aspects of the movie
Apr 30, 2015 nothing if ur marvel, but in the case of tarantino, my point is i still think hes got an immature voice. his command/knowledge is obviously without question -- but the dude is like Mozart in Amadeus
Apr 30, 2015 but has a more "mature" voice than the one he's been using been needed for any of his films yet? they've all benefited from his voice, if anything, in my opinion. his voice is what makes k--- bill 1 & 2 so exceptional
Apr 30, 2015 Bourne Ultimatum is one of my favorites from the last decade, but nowhere near the level of There Will Be Blood. I Agree to certain point with @captainawesome about Tarantino, however, that same style is what made Inglourious Basterds (my 3rd favorite film) and Pulp Fiction the amazing films they are, so i can't complain. As far as Tarantino Vs PTA, I consider PTA a better director, as a writter the match is tough
