truth 24 times per second: the new movie thread

[elpollodiablo]

Given my distaste for Death Proof, I'm kinda happy that they broke it down into two DVDs.  I may end up buying Planet Terror, as it was one of the best movies I've seen in 2007.  Maybe the very best one I saw in a theatre.

Sometimes I don't understand you at all, Nog.

[Greg Nog]

I'm like a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a zombie-movie.

[auto-da-fey]

ADF, I have questions: What is it that appeals to you about cheap sleaze, why does it appeal to you, and what elements of your life does that taste stem from?

You know, it's a totally legitimate question, but one I've never really wanted to contemplate. I'm sure the answers are both as mundane and as profound in revealing the deep-seated insecurities, desires, traumas and fetishes of my life as would be the answers of someone responding to the same question about their interest in romance novels or folk music or fistfucking, but I'm pretty content just liking what I like. Which is sort of a cop-out, I know, but otherwise I probably would use those three hours, bash out an answer that would dwarf the size of Andrew's longest post, and probably still not really prove all that insightful.

Also, I mean, it's not like grindhouse movies are all I like. I'm also all about documentaries and Truffaut and Rushmore and whatnot. It all sort of moves in cycles.

[auto-da-fey]

Given my distaste for Death Proof, I'm kinda happy that they broke it down into two DVDs.  I may end up buying Planet Terror, as it was one of the best movies I've seen in 2007.  Maybe the very best one I saw in a theatre.

Sometimes I don't understand you at all, Nog.

I actually agree, but I think we're looking at this from opposing points of view.

[coldforge]

how disappointing.

[old kentucky shark]

I really love The Terror--washed-out colors included (I'd hate to see it restored, honestly).

apparently AMC has been showing a really nice print of it occasionally? full widescreen and all, or so the imdb boards say. i'd be interested in catching the cleaned-up version, although the look of this one was really some kind of very nice.

[guanajuato]

I really like sheep and zombies, but I wasn't as enthused about Black Sheep as I thought I would be. It had a Dead/Alive vibe happenin' + Shaun of the Dead and it had some great moments involving sheep though. If you're into sheep. I know some of you are.

Then, I watched Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, because I really like backwoods cannibals. It was a lot of fun actually! If you're into fun and inbred cannibals, then you can't go wrong, on the dead end of the wrong turn.

[silentsigh89]

I watched Metropolis tonight!

It was awesome. and I am relatively certain that every movie I've ever seen has taken something from it. I was amazed!

[jebreject]

The Darjeeling Limited.

 

[aftm]

i HAVE to see that. any good?

[jebreject]

way good.

[morgan]

The real question here is, did you like The Life Aquatic?  'Cause I hated it.

[aftm]

It was the worst Wes Anderson film. But had it's moments. EVERY torrent for Darjeeling Limited is a fucking virus.

[heart of green]

we plan on seeing nightmare before christmas in 3d this weekend. i already have the glasses from seeing meet the robinsons with my cousin. hurrah.

also. darjeeling has yet to come to my town, so as usual I have to wait even longer. there isn't even but one theatre on this side of the river anymore. lame.

[edison]

The real question here is, did you like The Life Aquatic?  'Cause I hated it.

I'm afraid I cannot take you seriously anymore when you say in that other thread that you never took drugs! Tsss.

[morgan]

Seriously, people actually liked that movie? 

I mean...really?

[edison]

A lot. It was my first Wes Anderson movie, though, and I can concede that probably, the more of them you've seen, the more one's enjoyment of W.A. movies diminishes.

edit: I think I had actually watched Tenenbaums on DVD the night before, but I was half-asleep during nearly the whole movie, so it doesn't really count.

[aftm]

Nobody knows what's going to happen. And then we film it. That's the whole concept.

[morgan]

I think Wes Anderson is pretty overrated in general, though I do like the other two movies of his that I've seen.  Seriously hated The Life Aquatic, though, and I can't begin to comprehend why anyone would like it, but I guess our differences are what make the world so interesting.

[kadiekatRN]

I just sort of feel lukewarm about the Life Aquatic, whereas I have unending love for Rushmore and the Royal Tennenbaums. 

[aftm]

i have yet to see rushmore. all in good time.

[jebreject]

I think The Life Aquatic was really great, but it wasn't my favourite. The Darjeeling Limited was fantastic, possibly his best yet.

[auto-da-fey]

I'm surprised to hear it, Jeb--I thought DL looked really terrible. The preview was terrible, at least. But hey, I saw something you might like:

The Spook Who Sat By the Door. I watch a lot of movies, and rarely do they generate literal  reactions, but this one did. It begins with the CIA instigating a fake integration program that's really rigged to keep out all the black applicants, but one guy survives all the tests. He works for the CIA for five years, then, having mastered its skills and tactics, quits, returns to the Chicago ghetto, and organizes an underground revolutionary outfit. The final third of the film is this huge, violent revolution designed to topple the white supremacist power structure.

It's incredible stuff--seriously unbelievable that it was released by a major studio (UA) in 1973. The Black Power movement then was in disarray, replaced by the emergence of new black urban political machines, but this is like one dying gasp of militancy. It could be classified as blaxploitation, but it lacks the usual tropes--when the hero hires a prostitute, instead of rocking her bed he gives her an (admittedly cheesy and patronizing) lecture about how she looks like an ancient African queen, and how beautiful her hair would be if she stopped straightening it and wore it naturally. The whole film is basically presented less as an involving narrative than a blueprint of sorts--here's what we need to do to take down Whitey. A lot of it anticipates certain aspects of Fight Club, but it's far more radical in its politics, and less sensitive about racking up a body count when the revolution comes--no emptying out buildings before they burn here. And when it does come, the production values are surprisingly decent--I can't believe this thing found a real budget! According to legend it disappeared immediately after opening, allegedly under governmental pressure, but it resurfaced in a 2003 30th-anniversary DVD. While it's by no means a great film, it is an incredible and often impressive one, and a real historical artifact.

[elpollodiablo]

How many times can Anderson make essentially the same film and have his ego stroked? There's been considerable backlash to this one, it seems, as there was with Life Aquatic

[andronicus]

That sounds fucking amazing, adf.