the LAST FILM YOU'VE SEEN thread

Now the last film I have seen is "The Fifth Element" in all it's superbit glory on DVD.

What a fantastic and fun movie. I love the casting and the visual texture of this movie. I love the fact that Luc Besson simply let's Chris Tucker take over a large portion of his movie. I think the total immersion into a futuristic and different world is the best way to go. George Lucas used this to great effect in the original (non-digitized!!!!) Star Wars.

Eric Serra's score was enough for me to purchase the soundtrack after the movie came out.

The wry sense of humor from Bruce Willis makes this one his better roles.

Man on the Moon (1999) - Milos Forman

Well sometimes it takes me a long time to get around to certain films. This one was about as good as I could have expected. Jim Carey did a damn good job, but Kaufman's life isn't really great cinematic material. It's hard to watch someone be so damn unfunny and self destructive.

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Originally posted by trevor826
Re: Kingdom of Heaven - Slight Spoilers
Although I don't think Orlando Bloom has the presence of a leader, the main faults with his actual role within the film are down to the story line: ...
...
Who writes this stuff?

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I totally agree that the story is not compelling.
-- It has the potential to be intense, exciting and appealing, but somehow it just fails to deliver.
-- There is a good message, but the complexity of it is not well studied nor convincingly conveyed.

Monsieur Ibrahim (2003) - Francois Dupeyron

Pardon the generalizations, but I'm getting sick of "coming of age" films and "unlikely friendship" movies. The gyst of this film is both of those overwrought genres. Everything in this film is familiar, and overplayed. One question I asked myself is why does every French boy seem to lose his virginity to a prostitute? This might not be the case in France, but it sure as hell is the impression I get from French film.

For those who enjoyed the film, please feel free to offer some justification, but I found it pointless.

Also watched Dirty Pretty Things (2002) - Stephen Frears

This film was similar in the unlikely pairings, but the two main characters in this film were in common for being immigrants. The film was alright, I do think a hell of a lot more could have been done with Audrey Tautou, who seemed to be generally discarded here. Overall though, the film is forgettable.

Maria Full of Grace (2003) - Joshua Marston

Well by default this was the best film of the day (so far). Despite the Oscar nomination for Catalina Sandino Moreno, I didn't find anything special in the acting. Granted I sure as hell found her beautiful, but a talented actress, I'm not quite sure. Perhaps my expectations were high, but this film was in no way top 10 material. I did find it entertaining, and at times moving, but a lot more could have been done with the film.

The Saddest Music in the World (2003) - Guy Maddin

Well this film has enough originality to make up for the last 2 dozen or so films I've seen. This one is all over the place. Whenever it may have seemed weak in plot, it more than made up for it in execution. I loved it, if for no other reason because I can't think of another film like it.

We're in agreement on almost everything here.

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Originally posted by wpqx
Monsieur Ibrahim (2003) - Francois Dupeyron

Pardon the generalizations, but I'm getting sick of "coming of age" films and "unlikely friendship" movies.

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It was good to see Omar Sharif not embarrasing himself, but this was average at best.

Also watched Dirty Pretty Things (2002) - Stephen Frears

Overall though, the film is forgettable.

There've been better films on the subject matter. Nigerian actor Chiwetel Ejiofor was quite good though.

Maria Full of Grace (2003) - Joshua Marston

Despite the Oscar nomination for Catalina Sandino Moreno, I didn't find anything special in the acting. Granted I sure as hell found her beautiful, but a talented actress, I'm not quite sure. [/QUOTE]

Thank you. I coudn't agree with you more.

>>One question I asked myself is why does every French boy seem to lose his virginity to a prostitute?<<

The answer is similar to another question:

Q: Why does Paris plant trees on both sides of the street?

A : So the invading army can walk in the shade on both sides

It's pretty sad if ya gotta pay for it !

12 Monkeys (1995) - Terry Gilliam

Well strange, and familiar. Familiar for two reasons, first of which was that I had seen the film before, many years ago when it was still somewhat new. The second reason is that I now understand the blatantly obvious references to La Jettee.

Bruce Willis was fantastic in the film. Brad Pitt had an easy role, because I believe nothing is easier for an actor than to play someone that's insane, but even with the easy role, he was still better than his overblown lame turn in Troy.

I also thought Madeline Stowe was terrific in the film (in addition to being incredibly beautiful.)

True, watching the film I realized, she hasn't done too much lately.

Well tonight's viewing was a double feature.

One False Move (1991) - Carl Franklin

Enjoyable, violent film. It did have the predisposition of a late night Showtime movie, but it did elevate itself above that. This came on a high recommendation from a film teacher of mine. Not necessarily a brilliant film, but few are these days. Billy Bob Thornton clearly was the most dominating character in the film, and I think his work here was great.

Talk Radio (1988) - Oliver Stone

Well when a DVD is $6, it's hard to pass up. This film came during Stone's greatest creative burst, and it shows. Perhaps not up to Platoon or Salvador, it is close. Stone had a lot to say, and was extremely confident in saying it. I'm not sure exactly what's up with him now, his scale seems to have gotten too big. Like Scorsese, Stone is best when he's not trying so damn hard to be spectacular. He is much better when he's free flowing. Talk Radio allows for more philosophical jargin than usual, but hey Stone is a man who seldom doesn't have an opinion about something. As simple as the film was though, I still found it great.

Midnight screening of Revenge of the Sith, jam packed, very hot but a good atmosphere. George has referenced a lot of scenes from the original trilogy in an effort to appease the fans who weren't too happy with episodes 1 & 2. I'll probably see it again before writing any sort of review because I did feel tired especially in the heat.

Cheers Trev.

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Originally posted by wpqx
One False Move (1991) - Carl Franklin

Enjoyable, violent film. It did have the predisposition of a late night Showtime movie, but it did elevate itself above that.

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Yeah, it's a solid crime drama. Thornton co-wrote it. Franklin also directed Devil in a Blue Dress, which is a worthy low-key noir, starring Denzel Washington.

I really enjoyed "One False Move" I thought Thornton's turn was amazing, but I also really enjoyed Bill Paxton who brought so much humor, genuineness, and real emotion to his role particularly the sub-plot between he and the "big city" cops.

I think I was watching "Siskel & Ebert" sometime in the early 90's when they recommended it on video as a film not to be missed.

The Dreamers (2003) - dir Bernardo Bertolucci

A film like this is meant to recall some nostalgia. Bertolucci trying to make a New Wave film several decades after the fact. Rather than recalling all those great films that are referenced, I recall Bertolucci's own Before the Revolution (which I'm dying for on DVD). That was a film that was honest and real. It was Bertolucci trying to find his voice in cinema, straddling the fence between his Italian roots, and the New Wave he adored so much. Before the Revolution was a film made about the love of cinema at an important time, during that time. The Dreamers is like a mid-life crisis run amuck. Bertolucci seems to miss his youth, when he was discovering life through the cinemateque.

Nevertheless I did enjoy the film, and it seems better than most of Bertolucci's more recent work. I did find the characters to all ring false however, and couldn't identify with anyone, which isn't to say I disliked their performances. Bertolucci I think may have a hard time working in such a small time frame. This film could be much larger, and much more ambitious, but the politics of the day are never explained. It is never explained why students are in the streets, and why they need to be violent, Bertolucci is either assuming we already know what was going on, or that it isn't important. If he placed as much emphasis on the politics as he did on the strange triangular love affair, this film might have been three hours, but possibly better.

Sadie Thompson (1928) - Raoul Walsh

There was a time when Walsh was quite the auteur. This film he was writer, director, and played the romantic lead. Walsh's acting career took a nose dive after In Old Arizona, when an accident cost him his eye. His scriptwriting days seemed to vanish shortly after when was absorbed into first Fox studios, and later Warner Bros. This film was the brain child of producer/star Gloria Swanson (yes the same one from Sunset Boulevard). She is the star, make no mistake about it, and she does her usual best to be larger than life. Walsh's performance holds up probably the best in the film, being firmly between silent projection, and below the melodramatic heights that Lionel Barrymore and Swanson go to. Personally I never thought Lionel was a great actor, likeable at times, but John Barrymore always seemed to act rings around him.

As for the film, well it is a product of its time. The plot may be difficult for some to understand, wondering how a missionary could have government influence, and what the hell exactly Swanson's Sadie was doing wrong in the first place, but we need to accept this. And for 96 minutes or so we need to remember the film as a picture from 1928. The ending was apparently butchered, so when that approaches all of a sudden production stills take the place of action, which ALWAYS breaks the mood. One of the reason why I wasn't particularly blown away by the restoration of Greed. I couldn't help but lose some emotion seeing live action replaced by still life. The film isn't great by any standards, but you can watch it as a high point in Swanson's career. Ironically she looks better as the "reformed" Sadie than the dolled up harlot. But fashion has changed, and the twenties look went out of style, well in the twenties. Let's you know though that before the drag queen looking Norma Desmond, she actually was quite naturally beautiful, with two big eyes made for silent cinema.