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These 2 are great, and must sees. I love David Lynch, but Eraserhead feels like a student film to me. I've watched it, but I don't need to ever watch it again. Martyrs is ok, not great. Suspiria is good, if you are into that sort of thing. Haven't seen the other 2.
Can you explain a little more? What sort of thing is it? Spoilers are ok. Thanks for the response!
Really bloody, quasi-campy 60's over the top Italian horror.
i don't know about good but certainly noteworthy is the 1927 classic abel gance film "napoleon". it's kind of fun but definitely a period piece. "Waterloo" is a big hollywood epic and something of a spectacle. there is the tv mini-series "napoleon & josephine" with armand assante. not about napoleon but still borrowing from the setting is the early ridley scott project "the duellists" with harvey keitel and keith carradine...jamny said:
Ah, ok. Thanks. What's Audition about?
neither of these are horror films. "Eraserhead" is more an experimental film than anything. kind of interesting but slow. "audition" is more shocking - in a real visceral way - than anything. it's a fine critique of contemporary japanese culture.
Cliff Notes: Man struggles after his wife dies. Years go by. Eventually, his son talks to him about how he needs to move on. Man likes the idea, and decides to enlist the aid of his friend, who is a movie producer. Friend lines up a group of women who think they are auditioning for a movie. Movie doesn't really exist, it's just so man can audition for a new woman. Man falls for mysterious woman at audition. Hilarity ensues. Viewers are never able to hear the phrase "kiri kiri kiri" again.
it also put the kibosh on any fantasies i had about japanese women...
Good info. Thanks
Will have to check this out.
michael shannon is a fantastic, interesting actor. he usually does really fine work, especially on stage. he's the only reason to watch the film version of "bug"...Great flick. Loved the crazy guy.
Even better bookbut i enjoyed the movie a bunch also
Did I forget to mention that the Gandolfini / Arquette fight is practically the greatest fight in movie history?
SuspiriaI'm a Dario Argento fan. Like most of his movies, this is a mixed bag. None of his movies are great, per se. They all suffer from weak acting and bizarre third acts. But Argento has moments in his films that I think are the scariest scenes in movie history. This is Argento's most critically-acclaimed movie. It's not his scariest or his goriest, but it does feature some great camera work and some beautiful color pallattes.
it's scorsese-lite. it has all the feel of the master but none of the heart...
The very, very best of Segal junk-fest.
This movie received a lot of critical praise. I can see the care that went into the movie, but I think it was flawed. I saw this around the same time as I watched Winslet in The Reader. I preferred The Reader overall.
Well said. He was fantastic in Bug, but that movie really blew it in the third act.michael shannon is a fantastic, interesting actor. he usually does really fine work, especially on stage. he's the only reason to watch the film version of "bug"...Great flick. Loved the crazy guy.
I don't know what that means. How do you define heart? The Departed is not nearly as dark as Scorsese's masterpieces. But here you have a great script, fantastic acting by Nicholson, DiCaprio, Damon, Baldwin, Wahlberg, and Sheen. I think this movie deserves to be ranked near the middle of Scorsese's 10 best films.
Yeah. And the bad guys here? Freaking nuts. I haven't seen acting this bad since I watched Mexican soap operas.
Under Siege is awesome. But Marked for Death has far more laugh out loud moments.TexanFan02 said:I thought Above the Law and Hard to Kill were both better. Not mention Under Siege, which had that girl in the cake
I don't know if you've only seen The Departed once. But I often need to see a movie two or three times before I can assess the overall long-term greatness. I've seen The Departed five times now, and it was extremely entertaining even on the fifth viewing.TexanFan02 said:
Erika EliniakTexanFan02 said:I thought Above the Law and Hard to Kill were both better. Not mention Under Siege, which had that girl in the cake
marty's a victim of his own success in some ways. he's done all of these incredible, iconic films and gets criticized when he only makes a good one. "the departed" is a good film but that's about it. kind of damning for me is how conventional it is. even his lesser works - "after hours", for example - have something interesting that elicits some reaction. there is nothing in "the departed" that reminds me that scorsese specifically did it. for an artist this is a mortal sin, i think. he had a great 15-20 year run from the 80s through the 90's.
While the Departed may not rank as high as the great MS films, it is definitely top 3 in watchability. What it lacks in depth and importance it more than makes up for in entertainment. I am a huge fan of the film which could only be possibly slighted, when viewed alongside other MS masterpieces. If you only saw it once or twice, I really recommend more viewings. Its has gotten better each of the three times I watched it.
Yep. That Screwface is one nutty dude.
i don't think scorsese is the the type of director that angles for "important" films. he makes masterpieces, yes, but not important films. "the last temptation..." only became important because of the audience controversy. the story itself goes to great lengths to make jesus something close to ordinary. he's not like spielberg, mel gibson or eastwood. he's just made some very conventional films - "the aviator" is another - that are very un-marty-like.
I agree with most of what you said. It's obvious that almost every artist enjoys a critical five to 10 year period where they do their best work. However, I think you're judging this movie unfairly. I think this movie would be received differently had a young director created it. Remove Scorsese's name, and you have a different mindset. I think this movie is a lot better than good. Think of all the mediocre crime thrillers released in the last 10 years. This is miles better than those.
this film could have been directed by a dozen other directors and that's exactly the problem with it. this is what i meant by scorsese being a victim of his own success. he can't really take a picture off. again, "the departed" is a good film but it's a rather tame film. i didn't like "gangs..." but i credit him for the ambitious nature of it.
Yes. The dramatic scenes are great in this movie. But more than anything, watching this again makes me think Scorsese intended this movie to be a black comedy.
what gave it away: having mark wahlberg in the ensemble or the rat at the end?
Sure. But I'm not sure why its lack of ambition hurts it. If you survey your favorite directors, do you think their catalogs are that consistent. Take the Coen Brothers. I think No Country for Old Men is one of the best movies of the last 10 years. But I don't think less of them for making quirky comedies like Burn After Reading or A Serious Man. Scorsese's made some of the most powerful movies in cinema history. I can't discredit The Departed just because it doesn't carry the weight of Raging Bull.
Touché. But there's no universe where any video store would classify The Departed as a comedy.saintfool said:
who is comparing "departed" with "raging bull"? i'm certainly not. i'm not going to criticize scorsese for much of anything other than being little complacent. marty's earned a tremendous amount of trust and goodwill from audiences for his catalog. he's earned the right to do whatever he wants. if he wants to dabble in more conventional fare then we're better off for it. other directors - auteurs seems to be the appropriate term when we're talking about the likes of MS and others here - can change gears in their subject matter or genre for their films but they're still very much their films. there is nothing in "the departed" or "aviator" that clearly identifies it as pure marty except their high quality. that's a good thing for the most part but i found them to be kind of unremarkable. it's just not what i expect from MS though.jdoggydogg said:
LTROI is excellent but I wouldn't call it horror. It's more of a vampire love story.Audition is pretty slow but then it delivers what you are looking for in the last 10-15 minutes. Takashi Miike is one ####ed up dude. If he walked into a room I would sprint towards the fire escape.
Sure, you're comparing Raging Bull to The Departed. You said The Departed is unremarkable. So you've implied that it doesn't compare to Scorsese's great works. I can't convince you that The Departed is a great movie. That'd be pointless. You're essentially saying that The Departed doesn't carry all the signature Scorsese touches contained in his greatest works. I guess the difference between us is I don't care. If you're saying that The Departed isn't a great movie, then I can see where you're coming from. After all, your criteria for great movies could very well mean that there are only a couple hundred great movies. But The Departed is a lot better than "good" to me.
no, when i say it's unremarkable then i mean it is unremarkable - scorsese or no scorsese. it's a well done film. i'm not comparing it his masterpieces either. what i can do is compare it to his body of work because not all of his films are masterpieces. the only scorsese touch i look for is interesting or compelling characters and there is a paucity of them in "the departed". maybe it's that i don't care for dicaprio (his best work was in "what's eating gilbert grape?" maybe) but i know that i'm not the only one reconsidering the master of late.fwiw, i have taken the same criticism to soderbergh. he's squandering his considerable talents doing silly Ocean 11 sequels.
I want to see Public Enemies. But I cannot name one positive review I've read about that movie.Just read (ok, skimmed) the past three months worth of posts here. Wish I had done that before watching Public Enemies. It was ok, just seemed to be missing something.I joined Netflix around Christmas and am trying to slowly catch up after several years of not seeing many movies.Activity and rankings so far...Quantum of Solace **** - guess I'm the only one who liked it better than Casino Royale.
Great flick. Loved the crazy guy.
Thanks!
