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Resurrecting the Movies thread...
Meryl:
I ended up seeing "Gran Torino", Clint Eastwood's latest, last night because my friend didn't think she could handle the harshness in "Slumdog Millionaire." I think it would have been worth dealing with that and hiding our eyes rather than seeing this turkey, though.
I expected a better film, frankly, given Clint Eastwood's track record, but I guess everybody's entitled to stumble once in awhile. I found the story consistently contrived and the acting stiff and amateurish. Clint Eastwood was good in his snarly "Dirty Harry" kind of way, but was pretty one-note. It looked at times like a film school project or an after-school special to me. The ending managed to jerk a few tears from me, but overall I can't recommend it.
Aloysius J. Gleek:
--- Quote from: Meryl on January 01, 2009, 02:08:48 pm ---I ended up seeing "Gran Torino", Clint Eastwood's latest, last night because my friend didn't think she could handle the harshness in "Slumdog Millionaire." I think it would have been worth dealing with that and hiding our eyes rather than seeing this turkey, though.
--- End quote ---
"--harshness--"
Huh?? (Can your friend pick'em, or what??)
Seriously, Slumdog is going to be a GOOD FEELINGS classic. Forever. Maybe even at Christmas, even though it's in Mumbai, with Muslim and Hindu characters, but just because the film was first released in the US at Christmas.
I'm a wuss, and there is one minute when I closed my eyes (the way I would have nearly fifty years ago watching the original 101 Dalmatians, a film that actually resembles in more ways than one); ok, two minutes, three, tops. Otherwise, it makes you feel ten feet tall, ready to run all the way home, shadowboxing, and saying 'Yessss!'
That's something you have to see before the semi-bleak holiday season is over--because it make you feel good!
(Rant over! Sorry!)
oilgun:
THE DARK KNIGHT: My first hi-def Blu-ray experience. Interestingly, I enjoyed the film more than when I saw it on imax, (I think I'm too old for the imax experience :laugh:) I could actually follow the story this time.
EUROPA: Thank you Criterion for finally making this von Trier film available in North America. I hadn't seen since it was released 17 years ago (!). Although I still enjoyed it immensely, I was surprised by the atrocious acting of some of the secondary actors. The print is gorgeous, as one would expect from a Criterion release. Still need to watch the extras.
oilgun:
--- Quote from: jmmgallagher on January 01, 2009, 03:18:44 pm ---"--harshness--"
Huh?? (Can your friend pick'em, or what??)
Seriously, Slumdog is going to be a GOOD FEELINGS classic. Forever. Maybe even at Christmas, even though it's in Mumbai, with Muslim and Hindu characters, but just because the film was first released in the US at Christmas.
I'm a wuss, and there is one minute when I closed my eyes (the way I would have nearly fifty years ago watching the original 101 Dalmatians, a film that actually resembles in more ways than one); ok, two minutes, three, tops. Otherwise, it makes you feel ten feet tall, ready to run all the way home, shadowboxing, and saying 'Yessss!'
That's something you have to see before the semi-bleak holiday season is over--because it make you feel good!
(Rant over! Sorry!)
--- End quote ---
:D No kidding! Picking the "urban-get-off-my-lawn-vigilante-film" over this year's "feel-good crowd-pleaser" was definitely a misguided move. I wasn't as charmed by Slumdog as most but it did make me feel good. Its harshness is more Dickens than Lehane.
Aloysius J. Gleek:
--- Quote from: oilgun on January 01, 2009, 03:34:28 pm --- :D No kidding! Picking the "urban-get-off-my-lawn-vigilante-film" over this year's "feel-good crowd-pleaser" was definitely a misguided move. I wasn't as charmed by Slumdog as most but it did make me feel good. Its harshness is more Dickens than Lehane.
--- End quote ---
Oh my gosh, that's it! It's Dickens! And the kids--nearly all of them great natural actors--are plucky.
This movie makes me feel brave--is that a brilliantly clever fiction, or what? :laugh:
Also, just for the aesthetic reasons alone--as nutty as it might seem, the cheerful color and the light makes it look Christmas-y to me. I'd love to hang this shiny bauble on the biggest Christmas tree.
Run, run, run before Twefth Night is over, and the dark descends again until Spring--seriously!
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