Topic: Eric's DVD watching.

[Touti]

Jon, as you may have noticed by many of my posts over the last year, I enjoy movies but I don't know much about it.  I couldn't care less about Hollywood's bullshit and all the "What they say", the gossip and the "They've done this" or "She's done that".  This mean I don't follow it, I don't read movie related web sites, I actually only visit one and it's my own.

I'm probably not doing myself a favor by admitting this but I don't even know who the Coen brothers are.....and I don't care.  I'm interested in movies, it doesn't really matter to me who makes them so I only know the really really big names like Spielberg, Cameron or Lucas.

Under those circumstances, it is not surprising that I knew nothing of Fargo.  I thought I was watching a movie telling me a true story in which 6 people have died and I felt it was badly done.  Had I know it was all make up and none of it was true, my judgment would probably have been different and more favorable.

And while I'm admitting to behaving badly.........nope, I haven't read my own forum lately because I had too much to do with my 4x4 run in Maine.

[Najemikon]

Hey, I'm not saying you were behaving badly! Far from it. Look for the ""...  You shouldn't need to follow it closely or feel that you have to apologise for not recognising who made it. In this case it just surprised me because at least in the UK the Oscars get to regular news reports and they always focus on one or two big titles. When Fargo came out, I had no idea who the Coen's were (pre-movie obsession!) and only knew of Fargo because it was being rammed down my throat seemingly every time I switched the TV on.

Not only was it my first Coen film, but I thought it was a true story for several years. I just checked Empire's review which I must have read at the time and they don't discount it until an essay version they published some time later.

[Touti]

Jon I know you weren't saying I behave badly, I was only kidding with that one   I just wanted you and others on the forum to understand how it is that I often buy and watch movies I know absolutely nothing about and think they are totally unknown to most people.

I actually like that, going into a movie without knowing anything about it.  This way my view of it isn't affected by what others say or by the history of the movie when it's an old one.  I usually don't read the overview and I don't check them on internet.

I really like knowing nothing about it and discovering it as it plays.  Sometimes I'm disappointed as was the case with Fargo and I would have enjoyed it more had I known it wasn't true but most of the time it pays to start watching it blind and it makes it much more enjoyable.  I have good memories of movies I watched this way and found totally delightful.  "V for Vendetta", "Dolores Claiborne", "Misery" and many many more.

[Touti]

When Harry met Sally


Click the pic for details

What's to say about this movie, everybody knows it and I'm probably the last one on earth who had not seen it yet except for any unborn.

My score:

[Najemikon]

Yeah, I still like "discovering" a film just by watching it. I will then often track down other titles linked to that first title by director, writer, etc. I like to read reviews as they normally lead me to consider a film I hadn't thought of before, but I do avoid preview articles. I've said before, I hate hype and if I follow too much, I invariably end up nit-picking the final result (The Matrix).

Ok, if you knew Fargo was fiction, maybe you'd have enjoyed it more, but knowing too much can ruin it. I always wish I could have experienced From Dusk Till Dawn not knowing about the second half. It was unavoidable for me because I never wander into a cinema without knowing something, but some people do and pick films just by the title and stars. I heard some great stories about people freaking out during that one!

Hope that wasn't a spoiler...

[Tom]

I have usually only one instance where I go into a movie where I do know nothing at all about it:

About once a month we go to the cinema in a group where each time one of us has to choose a movie. The one deciding doesn't tell the others at all, what movie he/she picked. The usual choice is nothing too mainstream. Usually stuff most weren't even aware of.
The rest is then only told which movie will be watched, when we meet at the cinema and the tickets are already bought.

[Touti]

Freedom Writers


Click the pic for details

What a good movie.  This is the perfect example of what I was saying before.  I started watching it knowing absolutely nothing about it and I was fascinated all along, only to discover at the end that it's a true story.

Freedom Writers is the story of a new teacher who takes charge of a class of young black and latino people involved in gangs and violence.  Once she realize that the school doesn't really care about educating them because the directors think there's nothing to get from them, she decides to do something herself and takes on extra jobs to buy them books and take them on trips to museum and other places.

I really enjoyed Hilary Swank's performance in this movie.  We're use to seeing her in weird and special characters (Million Dollar Baby, The story of the necklace, The Gift, etc) but rarely in the role of a normal person.  She's very good in this movie and her performance alone was worth watching it.

I think everyone should see this movie.


My score:

[Touti]

Histoire de Famille



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In 1960 Jean Lesage became Prime Minister of the province of Quebec.  That marked the beginning of what was to become "La Révolution Tranquille" (The Quiet Revolution) in Quebec.

Just like the rest of the world, in the sixties Quebec was going through big social changes.  Jean Lesage create the ministry of Education and took education away from the church, the nationalist (sovereignist, separatists or whatever some want to call it) movement was gaining in popularity, people were concerned by the Vietnam war, the Peace & Love movement was popular with the youth and the "differences" between French and English Canada were exploding.

"Histoire de famille" uses the story of a french family in the province of Quebec from 1960 to 1976 to revisit this period of our history.  Throughout this 3 hours movie we see how this family evolves and copes with the social and political changes of the "Revolution Tranquille).

I truely enjoyed that movie from beginning to end.  The director did a wonderful job at mixing archive footage and music from that period.  The performances of the actors/actresses are very good and "right on the spot".

"Histoire de Famille" is a beautiful way of revisiting and understanding the huge changes that French society in Quebec went through during the sixties and early seventies.

I highly recommend it, even to non-french speaking people who don't mind watching movies with sub-titles.

My score:

[Touti]

Batman Begins



My Thoughts:

It's been a while since I watched a Batman movie and I was not really impressed with the previous one which I found a bit weak compared to the first and second ones of the "modern era" so I was a bit apprenhensive about this one.   It turned out that I had no reason to be afraid as I really enjoyed the movie.

I particularly like the first 30-45 minutes because they really showed you the beginning.  It's only after almost one hour that you finally see Batman.  They could have made it another action pack from beginning to end Batman movie with a young Batman, fortunately they didn't fall into that trap which IMO makes it a good movie.

Of course ones batman showed up then it was the usual action pack stuff which is very well done if you like that kind of things.  One thing that really bothered me is the close up moving cameras..........god do I hate that.  I know it's supposed to make me feel like I'm part of the actions but I'm not and I know it.  I'm sitting on my butt with a remote in one hand, a beer in the other one and bowl of pop-corn on my thighs.  Nobody's hitting me, nobody's shooting at me, nobody's trying to kill me and no matter what they do I will not feel like I'm part of the action because I ain't that stupid.  However when I sit to watch a movie I would very much like to see it and those very close and moving cameras really don't show you anything.  You see there's a lot going on but you don't really know what.

Anyway, that of course is a matter of taste and although I prefer a more conversational method of filming I did enjoy the movie and I recommend it.

One thing that I can't leave uncommented.  Although it's a not the same movie as the first one, not the same actors, not the same director and not the same anything we can think of.  It is the same character and it is the story of the same man.  in the first movie, there's a flash back scene where you see Wayne's parent being killed.  That scene takes place outside after they went to a movie, as I recall Bruce Wayne even still has pop-corn in his hand.  Then his parents get killed by the Joker who then points a gun at him and asks him if he ever sings with the wolves at night or something like that, I don't recall the exact sentence.

In Batman Begins, his parents get killed after a night at the opera, not a movie.  Then the killer just runs away, he doesn't point his gun at Bruce Wayne and doesn't ask the wolves question and it's unlikely that it was the Joker because the movie shows you that they're killed by some common thief.

Writers should be more careful about continuity in sequels.

[Tom]

Writers should be more careful about continuity in sequels.

Batman Begins is not a sequel, but a complete reboot

By the way, the murder of the parents by a random thug is what happens in the comic (of what I heard). That it was the Joker was the invention of the first Tim Burton Batman movie.

[Najemikon]

Writers should be more careful about continuity in sequels.

Batman Begins is not a sequel, but a complete reboot

By the way, the murder of the parents by a random thug is what happens in the comic (of what I heard). That it was the Joker was the invention of the first Tim Burton Batman movie.

Yup, I think that's right. Basically it was important that it was a random attack, not a recognisable target for Bruce Wayne, but a symptom of a much larger epidemic. While I still think Burton's style is closest to the general mood of the comic, Nolan has righted several wrongs. I don't mean he is slavishly following the comic stories, because he isn't, but I feel that having The Joker be the catalyst for Batman betrays the very point of Batman existing. It makes it too obvious and cliched.

Nolan's take on The Joker was far better and a clearer representation of what I think may have been intended in the comics. Batman is established, fighting crime and understanding the morals of all involved while understanding the lines can be blurred and how he plays that knowledge is one of his strengths. Then comes The Joker and manages to tip all that upside down because he isn't following the rules, no matter how far they could be bent anyway. No-one knows who he is or why. That mystery is essential to the character. Nicholson played him as a pissed off mental case gangster with revenge issues. Post-Dark Knight Returns, that doesn't hold up for me.

[Touti]

I never read the Batman comics as a kid, I thought he was a frustrated looser who had issues with boys.  Face it, a grown up man his age, hanging with a teenager, both dressed with leggings...............there's got to be something there 

I much preferred reading Spiderman and the Fantastic Four, those were real men (and woman) 

[Najemikon]

I never read the Batman comics as a kid, I thought he was a frustrated looser who had issues with boys.  Face it, a grown up man his age, hanging with a teenager, both dressed with leggings...............there's got to be something there 

I much preferred reading Spiderman and the Fantastic Four, those were real men (and woman) 

 

But they wore leggings too? And Peter Parker is just a moody teen firing sticky stuff all over walls...

[Touti]

But they wore leggings too? And Peter Parker is just a moody teen firing sticky stuff all over walls...

But at least spiderman's were red, not powder blue.  Then of course in Fantastic Four there's this guy who goes out all the time wearing only ripped underwear and who's hard as Rock.......

[Najemikon]

 

Anyway... did you hear about when Superman was flying around Metropolis, a bit bored? He spotted Wonder Woman on the roof of a skyscraper, sunbathing nude. He thought, "I fancy a bit of that!" and flew down, shagged her faster than a speeding bullet and flew off again. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?", Wonder Woman squealed. "I have no idea...", said the Invisible Man. "But it really hurt!"