Topic: Never Ending Movie Marathon (short reviews)

[Kathy]

You learn something new everyday! Thanks Kathy. Do you know which films in particular the sets were used from? I was mostly reminded of The Old Dark House rather than Frankenstein itself. (A film I need to rewatch... had pretty much forgotten about it until watching YF).

I was always obsessed with Mel Brooks - I bought everything I could get my hands on that had anything to do with him. I used to say he was the only man I would ever marry! 

I'm not sure exactly where I read or saw Brooks discussing the sets - sorry - but I thought that was so cool I never forgot it. Somehow it made watching the film that much more special to me.

[samuelrichardscott]

Riding for a Fall (2004) - Short Film

My Thoughts:
So, I stick in the DVD for Tracey Emin's 60minute feature film debut, Top Spot, but before I do, I go into the extras section to see if there is anything about her, quite frankly, insane art. There wasn't, but one of the extras caught my attention; "A Short Film by Tracey Emin: Riding for a Fall". So, I hit enter and I get what could be one of the stupidest short films I have ever subjected myself to in my life. It is basically just Tracey Emin riding a horse on Margate beach whilst the Delroy Wilson song Riding for a Fall plays. I don't know, maybe I just didn't get it... maybe it has a hidden meaning too nonsensical for a normal person like me? Skip this four minutes of crap 'art' and pretend it was never made. 0.5/5

[Dragonfire]

You learn something new everyday! Thanks Kathy. Do you know which films in particular the sets were used from? I was mostly reminded of The Old Dark House rather than Frankenstein itself. (A film I need to rewatch... had pretty much forgotten about it until watching YF).

I was always obsessed with Mel Brooks - I bought everything I could get my hands on that had anything to do with him. I used to say he was the only man I would ever marry! 

I'm not sure exactly where I read or saw Brooks discussing the sets - sorry - but I thought that was so cool I never forgot it. Somehow it made watching the film that much more special to me.

I heard that about the sets too....  Hmm...Maybe one of the special features on my Young Frankenstein DVD.  Or a special on tv...or an extra on another movie that touched on all his movies maybe.  Crap....I can't remember for sure, but I know it was something I saw.  I haven't read any books about him.

Oh wait...just remembered....I got this book about the 500 must see movies..something like that.  Young Frankenstein was in it..maybe it said something about the sets too.  Hmmm.
This is gonna bug me until I remember.

[samuelrichardscott]

Top Spot (2004) Region 0 United Kingdom

Overview:
This eagerly anticipated first feature from British artist Tracey Emin marks a beautiful new chapter in her rich body of autobiographical work. Drawing on her experiences of growing up in Margate, the film features six teenage girls whose stories are told through moments of bravado and insecurity as the film captures the true essence of being a teenager. Shot with a mix of DV footage and gorgeous Super 8 film, there is both artistry and craft in her editing style and the film is infused with a selection of great songs. Shot last summer in Margate, London and Egypt this is a personal history at its most adventurous.
Emin is no stranger to controversy and with her first foray into the film industry, she has produced a piece of work that will be remembered for its bold approach to an often diluted subject matter.

My Thoughts:
I really don't know where to start with this pretentious, self-important rubbish. The acting by the young girls throughout is beyond terrible and Emin's decision to cast them is just the start of her troubles. The lack of narration hurts this piece immensely and the film trundles along without any real structure to it. The editing is poor and the way scenes are set-up lacks any sort of professionalism. The BBFC made this an eighteen certificate due to a suicide scene which Emin publicly moaned about, so much so that she actually withdrew the film from the majority of avenues for a couple of years. It's a shame she never stuck by her guns, and kept this tripe private forever. One of the worst I have ever seen. 0.5/5

[Najemikon]

To be honest, I find Emin to just be a joke all round. I don't like the woman anyway, but she isn't an artist. She has absolutely no skill whatsoever, not even a message to vocalise. You can forgive a lack of talent if the effort displays some profound thought. I didn't even know she had made a film, but your description bears out what I think of her. A child, playing at being someone clever, for some reason being tolerated and spoiled by everyone around her. It's time she got a proper job.

Still, it's reassuring that this proves there is nowhere to hide in film. In the art world, it's easy for an idiot to get fawned over by the critics, but despite film often being sneered at, it's an instant sink or swim medium if you're thinking of tackling the art-house crowd.

[samuelrichardscott]

Very true... in fact the BBC review talks about the fact you can get away with it on an art gallery wall:

...with some of the young actresses looking plainly embarrassed by their pretentious dialogue. To make matters worse, the piece unfolds in a shapeless style that considers it a virtue to confuse and wrong-foot the audience. It may pass muster when projected on an art gallery wall, but at the cinema it's a dead loss: a drably shot, underwhelming clunker, produced by a tabloid-baiting self-publicist long past her sell-by date.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2004/11/29/top_spot_2004_review.shtml

[Najemikon]

Nice.  Right to the heart of the insufferable cow.

Sorry, I really can't stand her!

[samuelrichardscott]

Well, according to imdb, apart from some shorts she did at the same time as this (I reviewed the one on the dvd above), she hasn't made anything else. Seems this was a traumatising experience and I think she may have withdrawn it due to poor reviews, hiding behind the BBFC decision.

[goodguy]

Heh. Never heard of Tracey Emin before, but you guys stompin' around makes me wonder if I might actually like the film.

[samuelrichardscott]

Force of Five (2009) Region 2 United Kingdom

Overview:
From the world-famous action-team that brought you Ong Bak, The Warrior King and Chocolate comes Force of Five, the latest Thai martial arts showcase that delivers bone-crunching thrills and incredible stunt sequences.
When a renegade para-military unit converges on a hospital in downtown Bangkok, four extraordinary heroes will unite to restore peace and save their younger brother, who has been admitted for emergency heart surgery. In a critical race against time, they will defy danger, and confront a brutal rebel army in an heroic bid to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds.
Starring martial arts impressario Johnny Nguyen (The Warrior King and The Rebel) and the next generation of Thai action-superstars, Force of Five showcases raw and relentless Muay Thai mayhem, culminating in a jaw-dropping final showdown that will have you shaking your head in disbelief!

My Thoughts:
Force of Five is sort of like a Thai version of 3 Ninjas (but with more kids and better action). The kids have to get into a hospital that has been taken over by paramilitaries in order to get the heart that their brother is waiting for at another hospital before he dies. Whilst the story might not be one that is particularly thrilling, and the acting is slightly below average, the action sequences and the martial arts are surprisingly quite good considering the age of the youngsters involved, and to watch these kids perform some of the stunts they do tells me they have a long career in martial arts based stunt work ahead of them. The script is a bit of a mixed bag, but it has some funny moments and the whole final act is really enjoyable to just sit back and watch. It's far from a masterpiece but it's fun enough to waste away some time. 3/5

[Najemikon]

Heh. Never heard of Tracey Emin before, but you guys stompin' around makes me wonder if I might actually like the film.

Honestly, I'm only basing my opinion on what I think of her, but I still think you wouldn't like her stuff either. Even when I don't like the films you do, I can appreciate the talent involved and the message they were trying to convey.

Take a look at this link. If you are intrigued by this complete tripe her past work then, maybe she has a chance with you and you should watch the film. If like me, you look at "Unmade Bed" and think WTF, move on.

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/tracey_emin.htm

[samuelrichardscott]

From Paris with Love (2010) R2 United Kingdom

Overview:
A personal aide to U.S. Ambassador in France, James Reece (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) has an enviable life in Paris and a beautiful French girlfriend, but his real passion is his side job as a low-level operative for the CIA.
All James wants is to become a bona fide agent and see some real action. So when he's offered his first senior-level assignment, he can't believe his good luck until he meets his new partner, special agent Charlie Wax (John Travolta) - a trigger-happy, wisecracking, loose cannon who's been sent to Paris to stop a terrorist attack.

My Thoughts:
French director Pierre Morel first came to my attention with the fantastic Banlieue 13, an action packed stylish melee from France that was a lot of fun. His second film, Taken, starring Liam Neeson was also a film I enjoyed a hell of a lot. From Paris with Love, is his third film, and like his others, I enjoyed it thoroughly for what it was, action action action. Based on a story by Luc Besson, From Paris with Love may not put that much thought into character development, but I came for the action, which was non-stop from beginning to end. Explosions, gunfights and great car chase sequences all built around a solid if formulaic plot and it was good to see John Travolta in the role of a CIA agent who shoots first, asks questions later. This is above average, action-thriller popcorn fodder. I look forward to Morel's next, which will hopefully be yet another collaboration with Luc Besson. 3.5/5

[goodguy]

Heh. Never heard of Tracey Emin before, but you guys stompin' around makes me wonder if I might actually like the film.

Honestly, I'm only basing my opinion on what I think of her, but I still think you wouldn't like her stuff either. Even when I don't like the films you do, I can appreciate the talent involved and the message they were trying to convey.

Take a look at this link. If you are intrigued by this complete tripe her past work then, maybe she has a chance with you and you should watch the film. If like me, you look at "Unmade Bed" and think WTF, move on.

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/tracey_emin.htm

Conceptual art is easy to dismiss and without knowing anything about her that doesn't elicit a reaction from me, one way or the other. I skimmed through a couple of other reviews of the film and it's hard to get a handle on it. I've recently seen Matthew Porterfield's pretty great Putty Hill (which uses a fake documentary approach including interviews to portrait a group of people) and I wonder if Emin's Top Spot could be in similar vein. But apart from that it's pretty much only your and Sam's knee-jerk reaction that piqued my interest. I reserve that kind of hatred for the Spielbergs of this world. 

[samuelrichardscott]

and Sam's knee-jerk reaction that piqued my interest.

I actually waited quite a few hours between watching and reviewing (I watched immediately after I wrote the review of the short) because I wanted to be sure it deserved to be crapped upon. It did.

By the way, whilst I dislike some of her art, I also like some of it, hence my interest in buying this disc in the first place. I picked it up for a couple of £ from Marketplace.

[Najemikon]

Conceptual art is easy to dismiss and without knowing anything about her that doesn't elicit a reaction from me, one way or the other. I skimmed through a couple of other reviews of the film and it's hard to get a handle on it. I've recently seen Matthew Porterfield's pretty great Putty Hill (which uses a fake documentary approach including interviews to portrait a group of people) and I wonder if Emin's Top Spot could be in similar vein. But apart from that it's pretty much only your and Sam's knee-jerk reaction that piqued my interest. I reserve that kind of hatred for the Spielbergs of this world. 

To be fair, Sam's reaction was the correct one. He watched the film and judged it in of itself before considering the director.

Any art should be able to exist in spite of the artist and knowledge of that artist shouldn't influence the basic reaction. Conceptual art is easy to dismiss when that basic reaction is one of bewilderment and fails to create a genuine and intelligent discussion. Only a body of work in that case can rescue it when it is seen in context. Nothing said about 'Unmade Bed' has ever made me think it is anything more than self-indulgent crap that some critics enthuse about, simply to create something that isn't actually there. The rest of Emin's work on that link supports that. Locking herself in a room and painting scrawls? It's selfish bollocks!

I find intelligence attractive and anyone merely having the ability to paint or sculpt immediately invalidates Emin and her kind for me. Spending months developing a creation that takes skill that others cannot achieve and creates a profound reaction will always trump her "look what I wiped my arse with this morning" approach.  

I'm not against conceptual art as such. I mean, you'll never catch me analysing Damien Hirst's work with any enthusiasm, but he's an intelligent man and has demonstrated that grasp of reality that the best artists need to be able to manipulate someone's perception while keeping control. Emin has never had control of her own damaged psyche and for some reason some critics are attracted to such car crash "art". Essentially, she's a spoilt brat.

Anyway my point is, regardless of what I think of her, Top Spot should be able to survive without Emin, but nothing I have seen or read about it gives it any credibility. Much as I dislike her, I'm happy for my opinion of anyone to flip 180 on the basis of new evidence. Top Spot ain't it!

I must go. I plan to stare at my own messy bed for a couple of hours and think about life. I'll take a photo of it then and sell it for £1000. Interested?