We will see if Wellspring gets it out... It's a tough one. I would certainly call it a great film and perhaps the best the most beautifully shot film I've ever seen. Still, I like Before Sunset as this year's best.
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We will see if Wellspring gets it out... It's a tough one. I would certainly call it a great film and perhaps the best the most beautifully shot film I've ever seen. Still, I like Before Sunset as this year's best.
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Oscar, you're going to have to add "Collateral" to your list. If you haven't seen it, please do so right away and tell me what you think. It blew me away... and you know how much I hate violence... this was... different.
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I admit it's not the type of film I generally respond to, but I will walk into the theatre with an open mind. I usually end up watching Hollywood thrillers at the theatre because my wife is a fan of the genre. One question about Collateral that nags at me has to do with the premise. I have avoided reading reviews because I don't want to walk in knowing too much about the plot. But I know it's about a cabbie forced to chauffer a killer bent on murdering five people in one night. I hope the narrative provides a valid reason why the cabbie doesn't drive away and report it to the police at the first opportunity. A lot of Hollywood films strain credibility in the service of cheap thrills. Too many of these films are more concerned with plot twists than characterization. At the present, based mostly on your recommendation and some of the director's previous films, I will assume Collateral to be the exception. I have a couple of films to watch likely to leave theatres before Collateral does, so be patient with me. :)
Last edited by oscar jubis; 08-14-2004 at 01:07 AM.
Without giving too much away here, I'll tell you that the cabbie in "Collateral" doesn't really have the choice to get away and report it to the police. He'd certainly like to do just that. And, there are a couple of surprising moments, but I wouldn't consider them to be plot twists in any way that's overly tricky or manipulative. Don't read too much into the characterizations in this film; it is, after all, still intended to be a big Hollywood summer blockbuster. But the film is beautifully stylized, and Mann really doesn't make any mistakes in his pacing or in his shots.
Also, when I saw it, there was a preview for a martial arts film called "Hero", which was billed as being presented by Tarantino. Is this the same "Hero" that you've been raving about here from time to time? The preview looked extravagent.
Same film that had its world premiere in early 2002. I've bought the dvd five times now because every time I show it to a friend or relative, he/she wants to buy it from me. Most people are totally fascinated by it, and with reason. I have been surprised though that some have difficulty with the narrative and appear to give up. The film makes perfect sense and there's a huge emotional payoff, at least for me Justafied. Admittedly, there are events that are presented from two different points of view, which can be confusing if one is not attentive. And Hero involves the type of wire fu scenes familiar to people who watched the enjoyable (but inferior in my opinion) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
I'll definately make a point to catch it at the theater. Have you seen it yet on the big screen? The visuals in the preview were impressive, and I imagine the film could be even more stunning in the theater versus at home on DVD. I was half-asleep during the preview, as it was sandwiched between other previews of the crap coming soon to the multiplex. It wasn't until the end where I saw the film name that it occured to me I had read good things about it here. Again, it looks extravagent, it looks like it's got the grandiose and the mythology of the LOTR films, combined with the martial arts and the "Eastern thing" of Crouching Tiger. Looking forward to seeing it. I'll be sure to stay attentive so I don't get confused.
Hero deserves to be seen on the big screen. The other day my kids were watching MTV, and they bolted out to tell me they'd seen the preview. They made me promise we'd watch it on opening weekend. Some promises are easy to keep Justafied.
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Ok, a big screen treatment would be fine by me. The film is really visually fantastic, but I feel the substance was lacking too much. Maggie Cheung put in a performance, in my opinion, far inferior to her better works such as Irma Vep. And Zhang Ziyi made me cringe with her strange antics, far different than what she was like in Crouching Tiger.
The best thing about Hero is its fight scenes, but beyond that, I think it's just not much. Especially all these flashbacks within flashbacks and confusing double truths. It all seemed like an excuse to show more fight scenes.
"So I'm a heel, so what of it?"
--Renaldo the Heel, from Crimewave
Article in today's NYT about the color schemes in "Hero". The link's got a slide show of different scenes. Looks impressive:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/15/movies/15MACK.html
August 15, 2004
Cracking the Color Code of 'Hero'
By ROBERT MACKEY
THE martial-arts epic "Hero," which opens on Aug. 27, is the product of an unlikely collaboration between two dazzling visual stylists: the Chinese director Zhang Yimou and the Australian cinematographer Christopher Doyle. That they had never before worked together is not surprising. Mr. Zhang ("Raise the Red Lantern," "Shanghai Triad"), a former cameraman, is known for the quiet beauty of his carefully composed shots; Mr. Doyle ("In the Mood for Love," "Chungking Express"), who prides himself on his ability to improvise with the camera on his shoulder, prefers, as he says to "find the film" as he is shooting it. Mr. Zhang makes still lifes; Mr. Doyle is an action painter.
Why then did Mr. Zhang pick Mr. Doyle to shoot "Hero," his first attempt at a martial-arts movie with digitized action sequences in the style of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"? According to Mr. Zhang, it was because Mr. Doyle is known for pushing film to its limits in order to produce extraordinary hues, and Mr. Zhang's plan was to divide "Hero" into five sections, each dominated by a single color.
The outcome of the collaboration is a spectacular film that looks like nothing that either man has done before. "Hero" tells and retells one story three times: how an anonymous assassin in ancient China overcomes three rivals. Two of the versions are false, one true. And they seem to come from different worlds: a red one, a blue one and a white one. "Obviously," Mr. Doyle says "it's our `Rashomon.' "
Add to this a frame tale dominated by shades of black, and a series of flashbacks infused with vibrant greens, and you have a film that functions like a prism.
While Mr. Zhang and Mr. Doyle insist the choice of colors was aesthetic, not symbolic, the coloration itself becomes the movie's theme. "Part of the beauty of the film is that it is one story colored by different perceptions," Mr. Doyle says. "I think that's the point. Every story is colored by personal perception." Slide Show: The Colors of 'Hero'
Thanks Justafied. I enjoyed it very much. The most recent version of the Hero dvd includes a special feature on the color scheme (and the Miramax logo in the credits), but it's not subtitled in English. Even Chris Doyle speaks Mandarin in it. Having seen it over and over at home, I plan to watch it without even a glance at the subs. I'll just immerse myself in the beautiful moving pictures.
Did anyone watch Twilight Samurai? A unique samurai story tailored to a mainstream audience, very engaging and well told, with very likable protagonist.
Last edited by oscar jubis; 08-18-2004 at 06:51 PM.
Glad to learn New Yorker picked up Take My Eyes for distribution. Hero finally opened and it looks great at the theatre. Still need to catch up with a couple of blockbusters. So this list represents my favorite films watched during July and August, "the mean season" as we say in these parts. Two or three opened elsewhere earlier in the year or will open soon. In very tentative order of preference (I plan to rewatch most, top 7 are very close). * denotes films already on dvd in N. America.
BEFORE SUNSET -The second American film of 2004 better than any from 2003. The couple from Linklater's Before Sunrise meet nine years later.
*CRIMSON RED- The last of director Jafar Panahi's films to be banned in his native Iran and lauded in the West. Having exposed the Islamic government repression of women in The Circle, Panahi gazes at the wide gap between rich and poor, and the identity issues of the 4-5 million exiled Iranians with his trademark subtlety and skill.
*BLIND SHAFT- Another film banned in its own country. Discussed in thread "do Not miss this hidden treasure".
GOODBYE DRAGON INN- Tsai Ming Liang's latest is a fave of arsaib4 and our own pmw. Discussed in previous posts here.
MARIA, FULL OF GRACE- Catalina Sandino Moreno takes over this Amerindie shot in Ecuador and Queens, about a Colombian girl who swallows heroin to bring it to NYC. In Spanish.
SINCE OTAR LEFT...-Otar has moved to Paris to work while his mother, sister and niece face difficulties in the republic of Georgia. One of the best dramatic movies made in France in years. You will not forget these women easily.
ZAITOCHI- Takeshi Kitano's updating of the famous Samurai serial introduces elements of the comedy and musical genres, as well as his appreciation for the absurd. Quentin, THIS is how it's done.
THE MOTHER- Engrossing drama from the UK. About an old woman who experiences a sexual awakening after her husband dies. Her grown kids aren't very happy. Superb perfs.
CONTROL ROOM- Doc about coverage of the US invasion of Irak from inside the headquarters of the Arabic TV network Al-Jazeera.
JAMES' JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM- Young African is chosen by his Church to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but Israelis keep getting in the way.
OASIS- Grim romance between a mentally retarded man and a woman with severe CP, who face cruelty and abuse at every turn. Fom South Korea.
*BROKEN WINGS- Well written and acted Israeli drama about a family adjusting to the premature death of the husband/father.
*OSAMA- Compact, intense rendering of the Taliban repression of everything female as seen through the eyes of a 9 year old trying to pass for boy.
*OUTFOXED- Doc exposes Murdoch's propaganda Fox News network. Fair and Balanced my ass!
GO FURTHER- Ron Mann directs this highly inspirational doc about Woody Harrelson's bus tour to promote environmental causes.
NAPOLEON DYNAMITE- Joel and Ethan need to watch it to learn how to have fun with goofs, nerds and idiots. Aki would approve.
Last edited by oscar jubis; 09-02-2004 at 02:05 AM.
In-depth article on this film, being released in a few locales here in the states. Article written by Nathan Lee, who I believe is a friend of our Administrator Peter. Good to see his stuff being published in the illustrious Times...
The Best Film With the Smallest Release
By NATHAN LEE
Published: September 12, 2004
WHEN historians of the future look back on the current movie scene, they will note the presence of giants among us, and marvel that they passed by so little noticed. On the film festival circuit and in the pages of serious film magazines, the names are already legend, but in what remains of the art-house culture in America, their reputations are barely a whisper. Wong Kar-wai, Jia Zhangke, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tsai Ming-liang: the great foreign filmmakers of our time sound more foreign than ever.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/12/mo...ial/12LEE.html
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It's a great article by Nathan Lee, and thanks Justafied for posting it here. It's good to see someone who appreciates Tsai as much as I do and he obviously has a very good understanding of the material. As Nathan also mentioned, all of Tsai's feature films are available on dvd in the U.S (except his short The Skywalk is Gone on which his next film will be based) which is not the case with the likes of Hou and Zhang-ke so there isn't an excuse for the cinephiles to not know more about him.
Last edited by arsaib4; 09-15-2004 at 04:12 PM.
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Here's something refreshing to hear from an exec.
"It is what it is," commented Ryan Werner, head of distribution at Wellspring on the opening of Goodbye Dragon Inn. "We didn't do this film expecting a huge opening. It is a filmmaker that Wellspring has always supported, and we have every single one of his films on DVD, and have theatrically released the last two. If a film this good doesn't get a release, something is wrong in the world. Hopefully we've found a way to make sure that we can do a couple of films like this a year without putting ourselves at risk, and still getting the film out there."
Finally saw "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", and I agree it's one of my favorites so far this year. Kaufman's first film with a heart. I loved "Being John Malkovich", it was more clever and funny and entertaining than I thought a film could be, but it was still a bit icey around the edges. "Sunshine" is just as warped (or close, at least), but it's also achingly human. Wonderfully original direction also, probably more focused than Jonze. One scene that keeps cracking me up is Carrey on the bed asleep, with Ruffalo and Dunst dancing on the bed in their underwear, high.
Other favorites of mine: "Hero", "Fahrenheit 9/11", "Control Room", and even "Collateral".
Really looking forward to seeing "I heart Huckabees", even with the lukewarm comments about it I've read here. I've loved everything David O's done so far. Better drink a lot of coffee before seeing this one, don't want to miss anything.
Also looking forward to seeing "Life Aquatic", "Proof", and "Sideways" (I think it's called), the new Payne film.
What are the Hollywood heavy hitters throwing out at us this holiday season in attempt to get Oscar attention? I'm sure Tom Hanks or Ronny Howard have something coming our way...
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