Jesus Camp

Very moving although I am like always completely torn ethically. 

Alright.  Okay.  I've already gone past the point of no return.  The Netflix envelope is on the coffee table.  It's scheduled. Tonight is the night for Mon Oncle and even though the above commentary makes me muy nervosa, I'm going to take them as an anomoly.  Or maybe a joke.  The same astute critic who has brought me to Jacques Tati cannot possibly be serious about Jackass 1 being more amusing than Jackass 2.  That good???

By the way, will there be a trilogy?  What the world needs now...

One night, oh maybe 5 years ago, we were finishing up dinner at a restaurant in Hollywood when someone at our table said, "Look!  There's Johnnie Knoxville."  Who??? I asked.  I wish that had been the last I heard of him.   

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

schadenfreude

Doesn't that belong over in the Word of the Week thread?

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

I put the whole title in there to distinguish the version I watched from the original theatrical cut. I bought the "limited edition" trilogy with the original cuts included as a bonus. I wish I could say I had had the will power to stick with the original, untampered version, but the call of a anamorphic transfer and a morbid interest in checking out Lucas' added material drew me to this one.

I could have done without all the distracting CGI. Jawas flying around Mos Eisley is just silly, and Jabba the Hut should never be anything other than an obese muppet. But the film itself is terrific looking, and the whole thing makes me reflect on how lousy the prequels were all over again. What happened to all the terrific humor Lucas put into this first script?

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Pearl Harbor

Strange, there was stuff about a war in this love story for some reason.

The Mission

If it weren't for the TPG recommendations, I never would have seen this.  Wow.  Joffe should have won 'Best Director', even though his competition included Lynch that year.

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

Actually, LWaPoM, I loathed Dancer in the Dark. Or what I was able to watch of it.

It was strange how I came to see it. Richard Beymer had been a fan of the Dogme films and very much liked Celebration. He liked the whole concept of working with a small camera, utilizing natural light and the constraints of the Dogme director's credo. Around that time I had read an interview with Lars Von Trier where he discussed Twin Peaks but also West Side Story. Since Richard was a part of both and since he was a Dogme fan, I told Richard to get in touch with Von Trier.

I did a little research trying to track down a mailing address for Von Trier and while doing so, happened onto lots of stories on Dancer in the Dark. The wide range of opinions on this film intriqued me. They ran the gamut from love to hate. I enjoyed the discussions and read way past the point I should have so that I knew the whole story in advance of seeing the film. I knew why some loved it and why others hated it and those critiques were enough to perk my interest.

Then Richard called to tell me he had watched it. How'd he like it? He said his favorite part was the fast forward button on his VCR remote. Pretty sure it was before a DVD release.

I rented it anyway. Rarely have I watched a film I found more off-putting. I really really really hated it. I know Bjork wowed the critics but I found her annoying. That film seemed to have had its birth pangs in some alien universe - a place I never plan to visit.  To believe the storyline was too great a leap of logic for me even if I had been amenable to the structure of the film.

So, no. I was not the one who loved it. In fact, looking over his IMDB listings, I realize the only thing he's done I've ever liked was the short film describing what makes a Dogme film. However, I'm not even certain he's the one who made that film. Emily Watson was good in Breaking the Waves,  though.

Lars never wrote back to Richard, btw. Anti-American twerp.

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Ah, Boothy, Booth Booth. How to be kind about this.

You know I have the highest regard for you.

Yes. And?

And I think you're a very intelligent witty guy. Your sense of humor is near the top of the heap.

So?

But I just didn't really enjoy Mon Oncle very much. Yes, the dogs were cute and I wouldn't have minded more of them. Their dialogue was almost as interesting as that between the humans. Which is one of my main problems with Mon Oncle. I'm the kinda gal who likes a good script with a touch of schadenfreude and dolorifuge and stuff. I'm big on story.

Sigh. Okay...

Really, my husband was not keen on watching it at all when I said it was a 1950s French comedy. But he went along for the ride even though I had a fresh, newly-bought copy of Volver sitting on the coffee table alongside the Netflix envelope. I said, "Come on! Give it a chance.  Look here... it won a Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1958."

We had several opportunities for conversation as the film creeped along ever so slowly. Cute house. I like when people hang their clothing on an outdoor clothesline. Watch that upper story window. I'll bet Tati is going to walk past it. Oh, look, he hides his key over the door. What's he trying to do with that window? Looks like he wants to direct the reflection from the glass onto the bird cage to make that canary chirp. Yup. Bet his snooty sister turns off the fish fountain when she see it's just her brother at the gate. How much do you wanna bet they get trapped in the garage with that new automatic door! 

Well, in the long moments we spent trying to maintain interest, I was thinking about a day when this would have been an enjoyable film for a theater full of people. French people? Didn't matter too much since it was almost a silent film. I might have thought it was in the US what with all the cool American cars. Liked that green, pink and lavendar Chevy! Coolness!!  It made me think of the times I've watched European television shows and marveled at the fact that they had an audience. 

I also found my mind wondering about just what circumstances led you to appreciate this movie, Booth. I thought maybe it was some French girl who had wanted to turn you on to aspects of la cinema Francaise beyond Jules et Jim. Maybe it was featured in a class you took in architecture school on mid-century European houses. What can I say. Maybe it's just the era or the region or something missing from my DNA, but I couldn't find enough to wrap my arms around. At one point I checked the time counter and saw we had watched exactly half of the film. I thought that was a fair. If nothing caught our interest in that much time, I didn't think there would be a sudden burst of exciting footage ahead. So I packed it back up in the red envelope and slipped Volver into the DVD player instead.

Care to help me understand what I missed?  I hope this wasn't too hurtful.

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Whoops, sorry Nuart (I knew naming people was a bad idea)... I wonder who it was... I couldn't find the old thread.

Just finished The Blue Angel. Great film... it's a 1930 German film starring Marlene Dietrich and directed by Josef von Sternberg. It's about an uptight college professor who hears that his students have been going to a cabaret-like nightclub called The Blue Angel to see the beautiful dancer Lola Lola. He pays a visit, trying to catch them in the act but he unexpectedly falls in love with Lola, and marries her, losing his reputation as well as his job. The first half is comedy, the second tragedy. Some plot gaps in the second half and a too abrupt ending, with an amazing (and bizarre) sequence towards the end that nearly matches some of Lynch's best scenes.

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

That's okay, LWaPoM.  I have a feeling there were more than a few who loved that film. 

Lola Lola.  NICE name!  

Booth, that's a good explanation.  I think I know what you're describing.  It's more than a spectator's experience for you.

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

I just watched STAY - the 2005 version with Ewan Macgregor.  Although I was half-watching and half-working, I found myself drawn to the movie and ultimately enjoyed it.  It's been billed as a movie that will appeal to David Lynch fans, and I can understand why.  It's very arty, interpretive and deep in places...and needs a second watch!

I won't write any spoilers here, but if any of you have seen this movie I'd love to hear your thoughts on it...

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

Sleeping Dogs Lie, dir. by Bob Goldthwait

Is it funny? Some good one liners, but not enough to make the whole film funny. Disturbing? Yup.  It's about a girl who once gave a canine a BJ and struggle with the desire to be totally honest with her fiancee about it, then the mess that follows the disclosure.  Moral? There are some things no one needs to know.  Though apparently, having a secret like this makes makes you pretty forgiving about other people's transgressions.   Okee dokee.

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

The Night Listener

An okay thriller, but watching this after reading the book is pretty redundant. You know the plot twists, and there's not a whole lot of new material to be found. The book's author, Armistead Maupin, was one of three writers credited for the screenplay, so maybe that's the problem. The cinematography is rather similar to Robin Williams' other creepy thriller, One Hour Photo, but even it isn't that remarkable.

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