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Started by SmallBlueThing, 04 February, 2011, 12:40:44 PM

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dweezil2

Quote from: CrazyFoxMachine on 19 April, 2017, 09:57:39 PM
The Wicker Man

At times colossally camp - absurdly hokey - utterly magnetic. It's a gloriously insane tale of pagan ritual and the delusion of faith. The late Woodward and Lee are spectacular. The whole thing vibrates with a grim energy and all the soft porn and 70's folk pop musical numbers fall away with that iconic, enthralling, mind-destroying finale.

It's certainly unique and is easily my favourite 'folk horror' movie-if there even is any other to compare it too!

Regardless, The Wicker Man is an absolute masterpiece and in a class of its own!
Savalas Seed Bandcamp: https://savalasseed1.bandcamp.com/releases

"He's The Law 45th anniversary music video"
https://youtu.be/qllbagBOIAo

CrazyFoxMachine

Waiting for Guffman

Christopher Guest's underrated 90's return to partially improvised mockumentaries (with music written by the other two from Spinal Tap no less) is a smart dissection of small town attitudes and high ambitions. What would become his usual suspects are all there and on strong form as well as a surprise appearance by a young(er) David Cross. Doesn't overstay its welcome and is full of good moments. Definitely deserves more praise.

CalHab

Quote from: Tiplodocus on 18 April, 2017, 12:30:15 PM
A SINGLE MAN
Colin Firth, an Englishman in LA, struggles to get over the loss of his long-time partner Matthew Goode. It's the sixties so society isn't quite ready to let him grieve openly - he's not even allowed to the funeral in one of the most touching scenes - and this follows him for one day as he struggles with exactly what to do with that old service revolver (in one of the funniest scenes).  Again it's all gorgeously presented (did Tom Ford - director ever do ads?) and framed throughout as Falconer (Firth) is an outsider looking in.  Julianne Moore is in it and is also great.

Tom Ford is a fashion designer, hence the visual flair. A Single Man is one of my favourite films in the last few years. Maybe the best cinematic depiction of grief (alongside the opening sequence of Up).

Professor Bear

Hidden Figures - that cracking noise you can hear is the sound of my bones breaking from all the cringing I did at this film.  Like Pride, it's well-meaning, but never gives its audience the benefit of the doubt that they can figure things out for themselves, with every plot beat and tiny triumph punctuated by embarrassing musical keys that pull you to your next manufactured emotional epiphany by the nose.  More than anything, it feels like a harmlessly anodyne "fight for your rights" state-approved movie-within-a-movie that you'd expect characters in a dystopian drama to be watching.

SIP


Modern Panther

Power Rangers

A violent psychological action film by indie director Dean Israelite, Power Rangers is the story of self-destructive teen, Jason Scott.  As the hero quarterback of his small town's high school team,  these years are likely to be the best of Scott's life and soon he will be trapped forever within this fading town, as his father was before him, forced into a life of unrewarding labour and missed opportunity.  Despite Scott's continued lack of introspection, he appears aware that the approbation of his peers has a limited lifespan, although is clearly unable to articulate his frustration at the life ahead of him.  In the opening scene of the movie, Scott devastates his own life at that of a nameless teammate, when a high school prank ends in a car crash.

From here, the story takes an unexpected turn and the rest of the film, a spiralling power/revenge fantasy, takes place entirely within Scott's damaged and unimaginative psyche, presumably whilst he languishes in a hospital bed.

Fantasizing that he somehow survives the crash with little more than a quickly forgotten knee injury, Scott's mind creates a small squad of two dimensional friends, who, through a serious of violent and unlikely events, are gifted super powers by an alien intelligence, played by Brian Cranston.  In this way Scott's need to carry out destructive and selfish acts are justified, as only through these acts can the universe be saved.

Scott's imagined proteges are indicative of his limited understanding of the world around him and his lack of interest in others.  They exist as little more than placeholders.  The space they take up must be reduced even further, however, as the fulfilment of Scott's fantasies requires that these characters voluntarily submit to being nothing more than colour coded symbols.

The fantasy culminates in a violent showdown against a monsterous and faceless representation of the gold mining industry which defines this small town.  As Scott violently rebels against his likely future, he is able to save the life of his disappointed father, shifting the power balance of their relationship and enforcing his own superiority.   

Ultimately, the message here is that teamwork will save the day, although this takes the form of following Scott's orders and abandoning any form of individuality. 

Dark Jimbo

@jamesfeistdraws

dweezil2

You're a braver man than me Panthero!  :o
Savalas Seed Bandcamp: https://savalasseed1.bandcamp.com/releases

"He's The Law 45th anniversary music video"
https://youtu.be/qllbagBOIAo

Colin YNWA

Quote from: CrazyFoxMachine on 20 April, 2017, 02:49:29 PM
Waiting for Guffman

Christopher Guest's underrated 90's return to partially improvised mockumentaries (with music written by the other two from Spinal Tap no less) is a smart dissection of small town attitudes and high ambitions. What would become his usual suspects are all there and on strong form as well as a surprise appearance by a young(er) David Cross. Doesn't overstay its welcome and is full of good moments. Definitely deserves more praise.

Christopher Guest's films of this type are just fantastic. I'm a big fan of this, A Mighty Wind and best of all Best in Show. All fantastic gems that if people haven't seen (and many don't seem to have) are well worth watching.

Definitely Not Mister Pops

#10914
I would argue that Best in Show is better than Spinal Tap, and I should be able to relate to Spinal Tap more because I was in a shite rock band. The only dogs I've ever owned have been idiots, and I don't get Dog Shows because smart dogs are boring and stupid ones are awesome.
You may quote me on that.

Professor Bear

Quote from: Modern Panther on 20 April, 2017, 08:38:00 PMThe fantasy culminates in a violent showdown against a monsterous and faceless representation of the gold mining industry which defines this small town.  As Scott violently rebels against his likely future, he is able to save the life of his disappointed father, shifting the power balance of their relationship and enforcing his own superiority.

The largely patriarchal symbolism exemplified by Scott's only significant parental figure being his disapproving father is also reinforced when he is won over not by Scott's finding purpose, but by his rediscovering the liberating power of violence that was lost when Scott abandoned the brutal homoerotic ballet of football.  I wonder if this Freudian symbolism deliberately extends to the only female figures in Scott's life being embodiments of either sex or violence, be it the child pornographer Kimberly, or Rita "Repulsa", a cruel and demonic avatar of Scott's self-destructive desires whose ultimate goal is to publicly immerse him within a fiery vaginal pit.

Modern Panther

Quotewhose ultimate goal is to publicly immerse him within a fiery vaginal pit.

Well, we've all been there.

JOE SOAP

Quote from: Modern Panther on 20 April, 2017, 08:38:00 PMFrom here, the story takes an unexpected turn and the rest of the film, a spiralling power/revenge fantasy, takes place entirely within Scott's damaged and unimaginative psyche, presumably whilst he languishes in a hospital bed.

Not another 'Adi Shankar' film.


Tiplodocus

Quote from: CalHab on 20 April, 2017, 03:03:23 PM
Quote from: Tiplodocus on 18 April, 2017, 12:30:15 PM
A SINGLE MAN
Colin Firth, an Englishman in LA, struggles to get over the loss of his long-time partner Matthew Goode. It's the sixties so society isn't quite ready to let him grieve openly - he's not even allowed to the funeral in one of the most touching scenes - and this follows him for one day as he struggles with exactly what to do with that old service revolver (in one of the funniest scenes).  Again it's all gorgeously presented (did Tom Ford - director ever do ads?) and framed throughout as Falconer (Firth) is an outsider looking in.  Julianne Moore is in it and is also great.

Tom Ford is a fashion designer, hence the visual flair. A Single Man is one of my favourite films in the last few years. Maybe the best cinematic depiction of grief (alongside the opening sequence of Up).

Oh it's the same Tom Ford. Like the Humphrey Littleton's, I thought it was a different bloke.
Be excellent to each other. And party on!

Supreme Pizza Of The DPRK

The Hills Have Eyes remake. The set design was good. I was excepting Indiana Jones to come climbing out of a fridge at any moment. Shame the story was about as good as Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.