8187 replies to this topic

[Ogawa]

Angelina Jolie, playing the Scream in the new Edvard Munch biopic.

Just watched Changeling. Stunningly bad. Almost as embarrassing as Blindness. There are no surprises in this film. You know what's going on in the first 10 minutes and it never deviates from that course. There is no personality. Actors are forced into monotone recitations of awkward dialogue (unless you're Angelina, who quivers and screams a lot). John Malkovich walks and talks like a zombie. Angelina looks like one. And the film keeps plodding on like a zombie, long after any possible interest I might've had in the story had faded. This is the film that wouldn't end.

Strangely, Eastwood thinks the most interesting aspect of the story is how corrupt the police department is and how mental patients are treated. I can understand the desire to make an exposé if this were happening in the past few years. But this is a period piece. Why the hell would anyone care about corrupt police and mental patients in the Twenties? There needs to be something more going on. But there isn't. This film is a metaphor for nothing. It explores nothing. It is a nothing picture directed by a filmmaker apparently incapable of summoning even the slightest bit of creativity in telling this story.

I imagine what the film would have been like if David Lynch were behind the camera. Identities actually changing. You don't know if the character's son is really missing or if she's just going crazy. Strange characters saying bizarre things. A surreal nightmare. That would've been interesting. This film was the complete opposite of interesting.

[M_Rots]

Angelina Jolie, playing the Scream in the new Edvard Munch biopic.


Strangely, Eastwood thinks the most interesting aspect of the story is how corrupt the police department is and how mental patients are treated. I can understand the desire to make an exposé if this were happening in the past few years. But this is a period piece. Why the hell would anyone care about corrupt police and mental patients in the Twenties?

It might help to understand the nature of LA. I mean, sure, to an extent all Hollywood types end up being narcissistically fascinated by their hometown, but in the case of Los Angeles, the 20th century history of how it went from an almost-literally one horse town to what it is today, on the backs of most of its natives who were run roughshod by a police force whose corruption and brutality were epic in scope and execution, is legitimately interesting. Eastwood may not handle it well, and that's no real surprise, to me. I am often amazed how the critical establishment has deified him as a director at the end of his career when his work has become much more uneven than when it started back in the '70s.

Chinatown; Curtis Hanson's LA Confidential; even Brian DePalma's turgid reading of The Black Dahlia (both based on two of James Ellroy's "LA Quartet" novels) all tread the same turf. LA has a long and troubled history for race relations and a volatile, often criminal, police department. Who cares about police corruption in LA of the '20s?

Raymond Chandler, Ellroy, Ross MacDonald, even Ray Bradbury, have all felt the pull of old-school LA. I'm guessing it's never too tough a sell to a studio exec when LA in the old days is the milieu. This is Eastwood's pass at it. He probably should have stuck to subversions of classic male archetypes, which is where he has always excelled.

[mouthbreather]

Zack and Miri
It had a few funny moments, but I'm getting so tired of the 40-Year Old formula.

Is it really necessary to have the romantic storyline in every film?!! Not that this is much of a spoiler.

Also, it's getting exceedingly tiresome to watch Seth Rogan play himself in film after film.
The best lines and most memorable performance came from Craig Robinson (who plays Darryl on The Office).

[By-Tor]

ON that same subject-- I watched Pineapple Express a while ago, and (I think the big mistake was watching the non-theatrical version) for the most part-- I was disappointed, Not enough laughs, and not enough story. There were some laughs, but not enough. I also thought his girlfriend was really only there to be a part of one big, long joke, that ends with a weak punchline.

[AFTERSHOCK]

Also, it's getting exceedingly tiresome to watch Seth Rogan play himself in film after film.

I agree. He needs to challenge himself.

[Ogawa]

Chinatown; Curtis Hanson's LA Confidential; even Brian DePalma's turgid reading of The Black Dahlia (both based on two of James Ellroy's "LA Quartet" novels) all tread the same turf. LA has a long and troubled history for race relations and a volatile, often criminal, police department. Who cares about police corruption in LA of the '20s?

Well, the Ellroy stuff is interesting because the characters are interesting. Not because police corruption in a certain time period is inherently interesting. Changeling has exceedingly bland characters and Eastwood seems to be relying on the police corruption and injustice of the psyche ward to carry the picture. The first clue to the film's true intentions comes shortly after the title, "Based On A True Story." This is like a get-out-of-jail-free card for filmmakers who don't want to bother doing anything creative with a film.

I agree with the rest of what you wrote, and I think L.A. has a lot of history that's worthy of exploration, but what Eastwood does in Changeling is useless.

[wh1tep0ny]

Never thought Spike would top Do the Right Thing until I saw 4 Little Girls - yes it is a doc but still a film and his best. Loved Inside Man and 25th Hour too. Spike gets heat for who he is which has nothing to do with his talent. Whether I agree with his view or not it doesn't matter I just am glad he is around to make the films he makes. on another topic I think I am the only person alive who didn't like Chinatown. Not trying to be cool or anything dumb like that but it was just boring as hell to me.

[Elemeno P.T.]

on another topic I think I am the only person alive who didn't like Chinatown. Not trying to be cool or anything dumb like that but it was just boring as hell to me.

You're not alone. Oddly, Polanski is one of my ten favorite directors of all time but I didn't care for his most acclaimed film.

[brobee]

watched bigger, stronger, faster* last night and was genuinely impressed. despite the sensationalist, low-brow-ish subject matter, it might be the most probing and thought provoking doc i've seen in a while. since taxi to the dark side, at least. bell isn't a gibney or a morris, and b,s,f* doesn't even remotely approach a man on wire level of artfulness, but none of that really matters. b,s,f* makes its points in a really painful, contrary way, without ever getting too serious or playing loose with the facts. i cannot recommend the movie enough.

[MattDrufke]

On my way to see "Kung Fu Panda: The IMAX experience" with the little man. I don't know if the film will improve from the IMAX treatment, but candy and popcorn and cuddle time with my son at 11:15 in the morning is always a good thing.

[Montana]

Watched half of "Outlander" last night, plan to finish it tonight. Great sound.

[Montana]

Huge thumbs up to Outlander. Great, great movie.

[Guy]

Also, it's getting exceedingly tiresome to watch Seth Rogan play himself in film after film.

I agree. He needs to challenge himself.

I saw Rogen on Letterman, late last year. He said he was going to be playing the Green Hornet. Seems like odd casting.

[M_Rots]

Munich

Obviously, we all see movies for different reasons, but a big one with me is that when a film is really good, it gets me quiet. The noise in my head; all the extraneous thoughts and impulses; just go away. And if a film is extraordinary, I stay that way for as much as a couple hours afterward. When I turned this off a few nights ago, I did not immediately turn on music, or the radio or some other noisemaker. Hell, I didn't even move from the couch for a few minutes, and when I did I found I couldn't even begin to write about it. A meditation on the price of vengeance and/or a look at the effects of blind patriotism on the individual, Munich is Spielberg not only at his best but moving beyond what I'd thought that best could be. I wish he would stop making action movies altogether and concentrate on the epic drama. After Troy and the first Hulk movie, I held out no hope for Eric Bana, but he is amazing here. With assists from Daniel Craig, who can be quite the actor when he isn't making dumb-ass action movies, himself, the under-praised Ciaran Hinds and the always-great Geoffery Rush in a small, key role, Munich vaults easily and effortlesly into my Top Ten Ever.

[kevdog]

All The President's Men, only about 45 minutes in, but i'm digging it.

[brobee]

watched mirrors last night/this morning. not that i expected it to not suck, but it kinda sucked real hard. a decent idea, could've worked with a braindead/frighteners sense of giddy gothicism. but as far as frenchman faked j-horror, it was just kind of unfocused. still, it was kind of nice to see a big budgeted horror movie, if only the result was stronger.

[MattDrufke]

On my way to see "Kung Fu Panda: The IMAX experience" with the little man. I don't know if the film will improve from the IMAX treatment, but candy and popcorn and cuddle time with my son at 11:15 in the morning is always a good thing.

So, I don't know if Kung Fu Panda was screaming for an IMAX treatment, but it certainly was still a cool movie. However... $21 for one adult and one child for a matinee? WTF?

[M_Rots]

watched mirrors last night/this morning. not that i expected it to not suck, but it kinda sucked real hard. a decent idea, could've worked with a braindead/frighteners sense of giddy gothicism. but as far as frenchman faked j-horror, it was just kind of unfocused. still, it was kind of nice to see a big budgeted horror movie, if only the result was stronger.

Define by example the word "redundancy":

Kiefer Sutherland horror movie.

[brobee]

watched mirrors last night/this morning. not that i expected it to not suck, but it kinda sucked real hard. a decent idea, could've worked with a braindead/frighteners sense of giddy gothicism. but as far as frenchman faked j-horror, it was just kind of unfocused. still, it was kind of nice to see a big budgeted horror movie, if only the result was stronger.

Define by example the word "redundancy":

Kiefer Sutherland horror movie.

um, the lost boys?

anyhow, i like sutherland, even if he's limited his range significantly over this past decade. he should do a romantic comedy, just to change things up a bit. it would be a disaster, but a different kind of disaster.

[M_Rots]

watched mirrors last night/this morning. not that i expected it to not suck, but it kinda sucked real hard. a decent idea, could've worked with a braindead/frighteners sense of giddy gothicism. but as far as frenchman faked j-horror, it was just kind of unfocused. still, it was kind of nice to see a big budgeted horror movie, if only the result was stronger.

Define by example the word "redundancy":

Kiefer Sutherland horror movie.

um, the lost boys?

I rest my case. One of the dumbest and most overrated movies of the last 25 years.