Recent Viewings

[ulthar]

Still trying to get "caught up" on the general want-to-see list.  Between crazy work hours and the World Series, we have not done much movie watching lately. Here are the last few:

THE WICKER MAN (1973)
THEM! (1954)
JARHEAD (2005)
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2005)
BRICK (2005)
CHICKEN RUN (2000)

[daveblackeye15]

Oh man, Them! is a classic! Good going there.

And I haven't seen Chickren Run in years but I remember liking it.

The others...haven't seen.

[Yaddo 42]

Seen all of them, but some it was years ago.

Them! - Good 50s giant critter scifi film. Saw it long ago, but it deserves its rep as one of the better films of its type.  Very creepy at parts and I can still hear the noise the ants make, real or not.

Chicken Run - was fun when I saw it, even got a VHS copy as a present. I liked it but I'll take the Wallace and Grommit short film and their feature over it. Wonder if there's any unintended humor to be mined from the dialogue since Mel Gibson's DUI/anti-Semitism incident.

Jarhead - a decent adaptation of the Anthony Swofford book, although it adds and changes lots of stuff from the book. The air of cynicism, confusion, frustration are kept. Just wish more details had been kept from the book.

Brick - interesting idea and well executed. Film noir-style detective flick set in high school. Great terse dialogue and plot twists follow the conventions of noir, an execise in style and takes you down a path you know if you've seen its influences, but it works. Well worth multiple viewings.

The Wicker Man - the cult classic "chiller" that you works best if you view it for the first time without knowing too much about it ahead of time. Did you see the short version (roughly 88 minutes) or the full version (100+ minutes)?

[ulthar]

Yaddo 42 Wrote:
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> Did you see the short version (roughly 88 minutes)
> or the full version (100+ minutes)?

The short version.  I did not realize until later that there WAS a longer version, apparently with some interesting Christopher Lee stuff added back.

Even the short version was moving and quite thought provoking.  I want to add this one to my collection, and when I do, I will have to make sure the version I buy includes the extra scenes.

[Scott]

THE WICKER MAN (1973) - Exceptionally good movie. If you haven't seen it then you should.

THEM! (1954) - It's a classic for sure. The the Giant Ants and the L.A. aquaducts what make it visually memorable.

JARHEAD (2005) - Mediocre film. Neat to see the Iraq conflict on film, but this didn't work for me. I liked THE THREE KINGS much better.

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2005) - Over-rated in my opinion. It contains a neat story about memory erasing, but it was nothing to write home about. I liked the brief reference to Montauk.

BRICK (2005) - Never saw it.

CHICKEN RUN (2000) - Is this the animated chicken little story that came out about the same time?

[ulthar]

Scott Wrote:
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> JARHEAD (2005) - Mediocre film. Neat to see the
> Iraq conflict on film, but this didn't work for
> me. I liked THE THREE KINGS much better.

I liked JARHEAD better than I thought I would based on some comments I read.  It just sorta got inside of me.  One of the things I liked about it was the visual of 'no color,' just bleak over-exposure in almost all of the desert shots.  You could feel Swofford slipping away as the overexposure increased through the course of the story.

I gotta admit, I really liked this one.

> ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2005) -
> Over-rated in my opinion. It contains a neat story
> about memory erasing, but it was nothing to write
> home about. I liked the brief reference to
> Montauk.

Agreed.  My wife did not like it, except for maybe the last little bit when it resolved itself.  I was expecting it to be better, given that it won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.  Note to Hollywood: Subplots = BAD.  Avoid them.  The whole bit with the doctor was a waste of screen time and completely derailed the plot from Joel's story.  That's my opinion.

I'm glad I watched it, but this one won't be on the 'gonna watch it again someday' list.

> BRICK (2005) - Never saw it.

See it.  5 out of 5, imo.  Skaboi gave a good review on here a few months ago.  What he says about the beginning is spot on; I was lost as well, but knew (with the benefit of his comments) to stick it out.


> CHICKEN RUN (2000) - Is this the animated chicken
> little story that came out about the same time?

Though animated, it is not really a Chicken Little story.  Came from the same studio as the Wallace and Gromit films.  The premise is chickens want to escape from a chicken farm run by a (in their perspective) sadistic woman.

(Not commenting on THE WICKER MAN and THEM! because what else can be said...both great, for different reasons, of course).

[Scott]

Yep, JARHEAD was visually a very good film I must admit. Just wasn't the kind of story I wanted to see even if it is an actuarate portrayal for many soldiers. Guess it had to be filmed for posterity.

The fact that they didn't finish the job in 1991 makes this a hard film to find inspiration from a soldiers point of view. Unless they focused more on a liberated Kuwait or something.

[Mr_Vindictive]

Wicker Man - One I haven't seen in a while, but remember really liking.  I need to get the wooden box set DVD that was released a few years back.

Them - I know I'm missing out.  Never caught this one.  I'll have to queue it up on my Netflix.

Jarhead - Saw this one at the theater and bought a copy on DVD when it was released.  Fantastic film in my opinion.  Very depressing and slow, which is exactly what the film is trying to convey.  It is certainly different and not the normal war film.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind - I'm a huge Charlie Kaufman fan, so this one was a no brainer.  Caught it in the theater as well.  I loved most every moment of the film, and found it to be quite inventive.  

Brick - The best of this list, in my opinion.  Ulthar linked to my review of the DVD a few months back.  The film is fantastic and holds up after repeat viewings.  I recommended this one to ANYONE who loves good noir.

Chicken Run - It's Aardman, therefore - enough said.  I also recommend Aardman's Creature Comforts which recently hit our country on DVD.

[ulthar]

Scott Wrote:
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>
> The fact that they didn't finish the job in 1991
> makes this a hard film to find inspiration from a
> soldiers point of view. Unless they focused more
> on a liberated Kuwait or something.

I was thinking something similar as I watched it - "okay, so ten years later this story does REALLY have a happy ending" in that another war was being fought on essentially the same ground.

But that scene near the end on the bus with the Vietnam Vet tied it together for me in this regard.  When you are looking at the individual men, you take each war as it's place in history.  That we were back in Germany in the 1940's after having been there in 1917 once already does not diminish the sacrifice of those who fought in WWI.

But the Vietnam vets did not get their 'closure,' their hero's welcome (at least not until MUCH later for those that got it at all).  Man, that scene in JARHEAD was one of the saddest in the whole film imo and it was not even directly a war scene.  In short, war makes casualties in SO MANY ways, and I think the part of the point of this film is that the men who fight, win or loose the 'war,' are casualties often forgotten.

That's certainly relevant to today's conflict.

My two cents.

[dean]

THE WICKER MAN (1973)

Folk dancing is always fun.  Great movie.

THEM! (1954)

Have the movie poster on my wall.  Giant ant movies always go down well.

JARHEAD (2005)

I was really entertained by this.  The build up to essentially nothing really suited the film.  It's not a heroic war film by any means.  Lots of funny moments kept me into it at the start, and I'm glad I stuck with it.

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2005)

Another I really enjoyed.  Was one of my favourite films the year it came out, if only because of the fact that it was more inventive and original than most of the other crap that came out that year.

BRICK (2005)

Saw this on a whim, without knowing too much about it and loved it.  A dvd must for me when it comes out here.  The music, characters [a car with a big lamp in it? Fantastic] and some good noir action.  The ending fell a slight bit short for me, but it didn't affect the quality of the film at all.  Someone once described it to me as having a really pretentious and pretty cast who all say pretentious and pretty things, and that's why it worked.

CHICKEN RUN (2000)

Bit of entertaining claymation.  Nothing says silly like chickens trying to escape a farm.

[Andrew]

THE WICKER MAN (1973)
This one surprised me when I saw it for the first time.  It was a bit inventive and took a different track than I expected (until it became clear near the end).  Some films that do that annoy me, but this did not.  There is also the great scene with the officer trying to reconcile all these old men singing about "The Innkeeper's Daughter" and you can see he is disturbed.  Not to mention when she is singing and slapping her hands against his door later.  And, how could I not enjoy Christopher Lee as the Lord of Summerisle?

THEM! (1954)
Stark at times and another film, like "It Came from Outer Space" that made a good use of the desolate desert setting.  The battle with the ants in the tunnels near the drainage canal was shocking to me as a child.

JARHEAD (2005)
I have only read the book.  Some parts of it came across as very honest, while he also got up to his own armpits heaving BS a number of times.  I think one thing that troubles me about him is that he comes across as someone who is uncomfortable with something wrong, but does not do anything about it.

CHICKEN RUN (2000)
The value of this film went up after a multiple viewings.  The characters are well defined and everything fits together like a complex puzzle.  Great stuff.  "I don't want to be a pie!"

[Yaddo 42]

Can't believe I forgot "Eternal Sunshine" in my first post. Also one of my favorite films of last year. I'm a Kaufman fan as well (I even want to see that new Will Ferrell film written by Kaufman - and I loathe Will Ferrell) , plus I only seem to like Jim Carrey when he makes stuff like this and The Truman Show.

This film hit all the right points for me: interesting offbeat story; that dealt with the human consequences of a new, amazing, and dangerous technology (so I liked the subplots about the misuse of the mind wiper by the doctor and others); an off-kilter romance that wasn't just by-the-numbers (even if what he was doing to her would be awful in real life); quirky humor (I like comedies that make me smile for all or most of the movie as much as ones that make me laugh a lot), Kate Winslet (enough said).

One of those films that I consider "mine", a film I embrace, and one that reminds me why I'm a film buff.

[Ash]

The Wicker Man:  Haven't seen either of them.

Them!:  Haven't seen it.

Jarhead:  I thought this was ok.  It didn't blow my socks off though.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind:  I've gotta agree with Scott & Ulthar's wife here.  Waay overrated!  
I dozed off while watching it and had to back up the DVD to re-watch what I missed.  I found it to be quite boring.  Don't get me wrong, I love movies where you have to use your brain but this film just didn't do it for me.  Jim Carrey's performance was good.

Brick:  Haven't seen it yet but it's definitely on my "to rent list".

Chicken Run:  I saw this down in Australia when I traveled there in 2001.  It was ok.  I don't like how the faces of all of the characters looked...what with the big cheeks out to the sides and buck teeth.  I couldn't get my mind off that while watching both it, and Wallace & Gromit.  Some of the chickens were so stupid, they irritated the hell out of me.  
I did like the evil lady who ran the chicken farm though.  She was great!

[Yaddo 42]

Stupid chickens? Gives it a documentary feel almost.

Just kidding, the fact that the chicken were scared easily and weren't too bright fit the needs of the movie and reminded me of the chickens we had in our coop when I was little. Although some of them did figure out how to (barely) fly over a low spot in the fence and lay their eggs in the dog house.

[ulthar]

Skaboi Wrote:
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> Brick - The best of this list, in my opinion.
> Ulthar linked to my review of the DVD a few months
> back.  The film is fantastic and holds up after
> repeat viewings.  I recommended this one to ANYONE
> who loves good noir.

I found this review of BRICK that is interesting since it is written in the vocabulary of the movie itself.