"Not the art of scholars but of illiterates." (new movie thread)

[Greg Nog]

Oh man, the more time that passed since I saw that movie, the more it grated on me.

[elpollodiablo]

I thought it was cute! Though perhaps too tidy and a little precious. And much better than most everything else in its field.

[mountmccabe]

There was a little talk of Mamet earlier and I mentioned that I had Redbelt waiting on me and I just watched it and it was stellar.  It is pure Mamet except that it is far more smooth than his normal work, mostly because Chiwetel Ejiofor pulled off his character.  I believed him.

I don't know, maybe that woodenness is essential to some Mamet but I didn't miss it.

But yeah.  It has some martial arts.  And some people talking.  It's Mamet.  I don't think anyone needs to know anymore going in, except that it's really good.

[coldforge]

i was thoroughly disappointed with redbelt. the plot was basically what would be written by a child who wanted to include all the elements that he thought were really cool but who had no idea how a movie should actually be put together. every plot development rang false to me, and when that entails more or less wasting Ejiofor and Ricky Jay for me, that is very saddening.

[Bernard]

I'll see even something really terrible if Ricky Jay is in it. So craggy, so lispy. Love him.

[jm]

coldcrux: really?  I thoroughly enjoyed Redbelt.  Zosimus enjoyed his netflixed copy so much he bought a copy.  Though I will say, oddly enough, that Ricky Jay was maybe the least interesting of any role I've seen him in.

[mountmccabe]

the plot was basically what would be written by a child who wanted to include all the elements that he thought were really cool but who had no idea how a movie should actually be put together. every plot development rang false to me,

That's Mamet, though.  You don't go to Mamet for naturalism.  By which I mean I wasn't expecting things to play out realistically on that level.

I will clarify that when I said that this was "far more smooth than his normal work" I was referring to the delivery of the dialogue and not the flow of the plot.

[auto-da-fey]

I couldn't find a single worthwhile film to go see in Ithaca, but there were some pretty awesome movie posters in the basement of the used bookstore--not sure why they're there, since it's the records section, but really these posters are great enough to be anywhere they damn well choose:









oh, and this did fit--just for davy:

[hannah]

The guy I worked for last year, the movie poster collector, has that Naked Under Leather one... if it's an original, it could be worth as much as $575... in other words, steal it.

[davy]

I have his latest, 2008's Redbelt sitting in the Netflix instant queue but haven't pulled that trigger yet.  Hmm.

Holy cow I thought that movie was straight awful, and I'm a fan of both Mamet and martial arts.

[coldforge]

Watching The Player. I'm glad I don't live in the Hollywood of the early 90s. I never could abide peaked lapels on a lounge suit, especially a light one.

[Bernard]

Just saw The Wrestler. Sad. Sort of insubstantial ending. The glasses and hearing aid were amazing.

Whit, are any of these familiar to you, and worth seeing? I don't have summer session parking, so these movies will cost $9 for parking alone.

[coldforge]

I also find it disturbing that everyone has their own house.

[Ignatius]

At the library the other day, I overheard two gentlemen were discussing The Wrestler. One said, "y'know Mickey Rourke is from Schenectady. Well, he was born there, at least."

Then: "Yeah, you can tell. It shows in his face."

[coldforge]

Schenectady, the plastic surgery capital of the Northeast!

[Black Amnesia of Heaven]

Instead of spending three hours writing, I watched Seven Samurai and drank.

Best choice.

[auto-da-fey]

Whit, are any of these familiar to you, and worth seeing? I don't have summer session parking, so these movies will cost $9 for parking alone.

are there pictures here that aren't loading? I'm not sure what "these" consist of, but in my curiosity I was looking around for possible contenders and discovered this series, which just ended but looked awesome--I'd have recommended every one of them (especially Gator Bait--Claudia Jennings was always a favorite back in my youthful days of big-box VHS renting . . .ahhh) except Slumber Party Massacre had anyone asked me, and if I'd have been there, would have gone to all of them. I've actually long wondered whether Stephanie Rothman would someday be reclaimed by feminist film scholars the way Doris Wishman has--maybe it's happening?

But, uh, I guess that wasn't what you're asking about?

[Bernard]

Aha! That actually was what I was asking about! I meant to include a link and forgot, apparently. I didn't realize the series was over already. Alas.

[davy]

I am totally going to see GI Joe today. My inner 9 year-old demands it.

[auto-da-fey]

Aha! That actually was what I was asking about! I meant to include a link and forgot, apparently. I didn't realize the series was over already. Alas.

yeah, that's too bad--but the Mexican sci-fi series looks pretty cool (it's cinematic turf I've never ventured too far into, Aztec Mummy vs. the Human Robot aside, but I'd hop at the chance!).

also, I can't get enough of the $3 DVDs at Big Lots. last time I was in New Haven I bought several, ranging from Brick to Kitty Foyle to the great 1972 sleaze-in-a-downtown-L.A.-flophouse directed-by-Paul-Bartel Private Parts, and today in Ithaca I grabbed:
-Oliver Stone's Salvador (been wanting to revisit this for at least four years; figure owning it might finally inspire me)
-Relentless (awful Judd Nelson serial-killer movie from the late 80s; saw it when it came out and hated it, but mostly curious to revisit because William Lustig directed and lots of filming in the now-demolished Ambassador Hotel where RFK was assassinated in Los Angeles, which is enough for me)
-A Stranger is Watching (truly godawful 1982 film, as any Sean Cunningham adaptation of a Mary Higgins Clark novel would necessarily be, but I do like the NYC location shoots, which are the only reason to ever watch this tripe, unless you like to see Rip Torn actively attempt to destroy his reputation)
-Breeders (utter shite 1986 aliens-in-NYC-sewers cheapie, but directed by Tim Kincaid, who once made some of my favorite 70s gay porn films under another name--again, enough for 3 bucks).

(the Big Lots $3 DVDs have been a source of abiding fascination and speculation in movie-geek discussion boards for an entire year now; the mystery was just solved a few weeks ago when Warner Bros went to court against a company allegedly destroying overstock but instead secretly spinning them back onto the market--which I assume means the supply will dry up pretty fast now.)

[milly balgeary]

GI JOE is so good.

[girl]

That's not what you told Twitter. I call shenanigans!

[alistarr*]

clearly his son hijacked his twitter account.

[davy]

Finally watching The Watchmen. That's quite a flashback there for Dr. Manhattan.

[davy]

This movie doesn't make a whole lot of sense, really.