Videodrome: What to say about this one... Damn. Talk about a savagely critical film. I feel incredibly uneasy each and every time I watch it (which is rarely). Fucked up, maybe even by Cronenberg standards.

What do you all think is Cronenberg's most, well, fucked up movie? I haven't seen some of his early stuff, such as Shivers, so I probably am not the best to say.

I drove out to the Mininova Theater.

Southland Tales: I liked it. I know it's a cliche for these love-it-or-hate-it movies, but this is really a case of the haters not getting the point. It was abundantly clear that it was supposed to be incoherent, silly, poorly-acted, poorly-written, etc. I can understand the argument of not wanting to see it because of that, but it still remained very watchable and original despite the "flaws." Also, kudos to Kelly for at least trying to comment on our fucked-up times, even if he did it clumsily.

Lots of filmmakers comment on our times with good films.

Like what? The only one that comes to mind is Children of Men.

Any number of films, really, though my view of what constitutes such a film is fairly broad. No Country For Old Men, Spike Lee's work in 25th Hour and Inside Man (good films) and She Hate Me which, although a bad film, is far more overstuffed and incoherent and original than Southland Tales. Iñárritu's Babel, Lars Von Trier's recent films, Little Children, David O. Russell's films, Oliver Stone's films (not lately, of course), specifically Natural Born Killers, a film which is truly packed with ideas. Greengrass, Spielberg, Winterbottom.

I could go on and on. Commenting on the times isn't really a rare theme in Cinema. Some films are more obvious about it than others. David Lynch's Inland Empire is more surreal and nebulous in terms of intent, but no less a comment on the times than Southland Tales.

If you're talking about science fiction films that do so, then I'll concede there aren't very many nowadays. But in the past, Brazil and Strange Days have both commented on the times with a bit more honesty and complexity than Southland Tales.

My brother and I, a couple years back, rented and watched the entire Robotech: The Macross Saga which was awesome, and decided to do the same thing with Evangelion. But we only lasted a couple episodes b/c we both got sick of the lead kid's whining. Does he get any better?

one thing southland tales has that those other films don't is authenticity. as in, the film is authentically plastic and junky, for a plastic, junky age.

Inland Empire has that digital look to it that is very much of the age. As well, Natural Born Killers very much imitated the media of the age.

southland tales is busy, obvious and ugly. inland empire is not. natural born killers on the other hand was very much a movie of its time, but not of ours.

can we stop talking about southland tales, like forever. i don't want to keep disagreeing with you, ogawa. this thread's way more fun when we're all talking about stuff we love. or unanimously hate.

If you're talking about science fiction films that do so, then I'll concede there aren't very many nowadays. But in the past, Brazil and Strange Days have both commented on the times with a bit more honesty and complexity than Southland Tales.

OTM. One thing I find distressing about the science fiction films post- Star Wars is how few of them seem to have any sociopolitical content, esp when you consider that science fiction, as a literary genre, was almost always concerned with social/political/spiritual themes.

Yes. More talk on "The Objective" please.

This seems to be the most common criticism of the series, always struck me as odd since I don't think any of it was inappropriate given the circumstances. I suppose it depends a lot on what your expectations are going into it. For whatever it's worth he does get better, only to get much worse later on.

Even though it sort of self-combusted in the last twenty minutes, Danny Boyle's Sunshine dealt with some really interesting spiritual and existential issues. I read some things last year that suggest Boyle and Garland disagreed about the direction of the film. Garland's screenplay apparently really played up the atheism vs. God aspect of the whole thing. There's something really strange and compelling about a dying sun/dying god and what that means in terms of spirituality.

The film is still really good, but Boyle directed it too much like an action picture.

The "Kaneda, what do you see?" scene is one of the greatest scenes of recent years. They really should've explored those themes more.

OTM. One thing I find distressing about the science fiction films post- Star Wars is how few of them seem to have any sociopolitical content, esp when you consider that science fiction, as a literary genre, was almost always concerned with social/political/spiritual themes.

anybody heard anything about boyle's new one, slumdog millionaires? it's starting to screen and word is mighty strong out of the gate. and the movie itself sounds more in line with millions, which for me is boyle's best film start to finish.

I hadn't but after looking it up, I want to now.

What I love about Danny Boyle is he does something different nearly every time out. Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Millions, and Sunshine; that's a pretty diverse grouping of movies there.

I despise Wal-Mart and found nothing to disagree with here. That said, what a horrible mess this film is. So many unnecessary talking heads, never establishing a scene before letting anyone launch into a rant. All the interviews are botched by horrible camerawork or distracting and pointless editing.

You can film ordinary people and let them start talking about something they're passionate about without turning in a mess like this. Take the Who Killed the Electric Car documentary from two years ago. Sit them down and set up some lights and heck, even coach them to get the best take if you need to (no idea if this was done but I don't see why it would necessarily be wrong in a film like this). Don't go out of your way to get pointless "casual" interviews where they're cooking dinner and the phone is ringing and the kids are crying. Don't include takes where the subject babbles and makes a fool of themselves. Don't wave the camera around so much, get a tripod if you can't focus on anyone while they're talking. Stop with the unnecessary editing during the interview scenes.

The attempt at Morgan Spurlock-like humor here throughout fails without a central narrator to tell where it's coming from. The silly graphics and spinning headlines feel so amateur and the montages do more to overwhelm than to educate. Cite where you're getting your statistics! After watching this I don't feel like I came away with one solid fact that I can share with anyone, just a series of emotional pleas.

I know this was straight to DVD so I shouldn't hold it up against theatrical documentaries, but it pales in comparison next to any episode of, say, Frontline. Big missed opportunity that could have been much more effective in the hands of a professional.

I haven't seen that film, but your description of it paints a dire picture. I think I'm pretty much tired of those kinds of documentaries in general. There were quite a few in 2004. The polemic, political, expose-type stuff is so boring and hardly ever done with any kind of genuine artistry. Even the better ones, like Electric Car or the Enron film, rarely go beyond the surface to any deeper human themes.

Give me Rouch, Wiseman, Herzog, or Longley. Not these pretenders.

had heard some great stuff about this but the end result while quality storytelling was not a laugh out loud experience but certainly an interesting portrayal if not impressive duplication of actual events.
worth renting but not spending going to the theatre for.

Which one you watching? The theatrical cut? The director's cut? The final cut?

The Final Cut. Also watched the very thorough Dangerous Days Documentary after, though I wasn't entirely focused for the 3 and a half hour run time.

What'd you think of the film?

Why don't you put your fucking hair back on and come back, just come on back.

All the Real Girls: Hadn't watched this in a couple years, ever since I watched it like seven times in 2004. It really is staggeringly great. Just a beautiful, funny, sad, and hopeful film. One scene I never paid particular attention to before, but that caught my attention this time, is when small-town lothario Paul (Paul Schneider) and his mother (Patricia Clarkson) are discussing his moping around with a broken heart and she slaps him and sits there, despondent in her clown costume crying, and he sits in the background with smoke from his cigarette swirling around the room and it's such a gorgeous shot, amazing, really.

news of the Suspiria remake, I think I am kind of sadly done with David Gordon Green.

NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Is this to there even being a Suspiria remake, or me feeling like David Gordon Green has no clue what he is doing with his career?

I hate to say it, but after Pineapple Express and news of the Suspiria remake, I think I am kind of sadly done with David Gordon Green.

This question may belong more in Magnus' rolling thread, but I'll pose it here, anyway:

Do any of you ever get movie malaise?

I'm sure some of it, for me, is simply an economic issue, but I'm in a situation where I have permission to watch most anything I wish through ON DEMAND and not worry about the tab too much, and still, most days in the last two to three months I can't find anything I give a shit about. When I was a kid, I could suffer commercials and injudcious edits to watch movies on cable, simply because it was a movie.

These days, I have become more discriminating, at least about preferring to watch without inerruptions and edits, but it has also gotten harder and harder for me to find things I'll willingly endure. If I could afford either netflix or gettin' crazy at the local Blockbuster, I'd probably have a stack 20 high and three deep, but at least within my circumscribed parameters, I find little that excites me.

I miss the days when I'd watch almost anything, simply to be hypnotized/engaged for a couple hours. Curse aging and developing "standards."

Anyone?

Exact opposite for me. As I get older, I stay away from all the dramas and "meaningful" movies I coveted as a teen and through my 20's. Now I just want to be entertained.

But the dramas and "meaningful" movies are entertaining!