The Prestige
is probably my favorite Nolan movie after Memento.
#4090 posted by Spirit on 2011/04/09 23:00:08
Easy A
Incredible hot Emma Stone (if you like her type) in an incredibly dumb movie. Should have known by seeing the image alone, those kind of colours/setting usually mean one thing...
The American
#4091 posted by mwh on 2011/04/10 09:20:19
Interesting, if amazingly badly marketed, movie. The blurb on the back of the DVD had me expecting a Bourne identity type thing, and while the plot is actually not that far from that type of film, everything else is utterly different. Well shot and well acted, but also quite cliched.
Source Code
#4092 posted by RickyT33 on 2011/04/11 06:02:20
Wow! What a headfuck. Totally loved it. 10/10. Must see.
Really?
#4093 posted by jt_ on 2011/04/11 06:05:00
Looked kinda dumb. I'll torrent it.
Yeah
#4094 posted by nitin on 2011/04/11 07:53:39
not a huge fan of Moon (idea was good, execution was not) but will give this a shot.
BSG
#4095 posted by nitin on 2011/04/11 07:55:44
about halfway through Season 1.
Still liking this quite a lot, but I wish they had retained the cinematic visual style of the miniseries (long tracking shots, strobing cameras etc) rather than the standard tv style adopted for the series proper (basically alternating close ups and establishing shots).
The Prestige.,
#4096 posted by Shambler on 2011/04/11 17:02:43
Good film, great book. Great film if you haven't read the book.
More On Source Code:
#4097 posted by RickyT33 on 2011/04/11 17:21:51
The only thing about the film really is the title. It doesn't have much to do with source code. Its does, but 'source code' is just a name for something else, which would probably be called 'quantum consciousness displacement process' or something really complex-sounding, so they just went for 'source code'. But the film itself is great!
Source Code (possible Spoilers)
#4098 posted by rj on 2011/04/11 19:51:07
i kind of enjoyed it but several things bugged me:
- the inventor was rather annoying and unconvincing, and his explanation of how (the inexplicably named) 'source code' worked was cringeworthy; not to mention completely at odds with the plot (and, indeed, general common sense). it isn't clear whether he actually believes that is how it is supposed to work or whether he is simply lying to colter, but neither really makes that much sense (there didn't seem a reason for him to be lying)
- the ending felt thrown-on. the freeze-frame seemed like the perfect point for the film to end at but it couldn't resist descending into hollywoodesque schmaltz after that point. it also (as alluded to above) makes a mockery of the initial explanation. granted, it makes some sense if you ignore everything about brain afterglows and 8-minute memory periods etc, and instead run with a standard time travel / multiverse theory (where you somehow return to the present / original universe whenever you die in one of the forked timelines) but it took me a while to get round to that. maybe it needs a second viewing
- no thought is given to the consequences of the ending; ie. how someone is simply able to slot into someone else's life in an alternate reality and live happily ever after. not to mention the moral side of things; at least when something similar happened in the thirteenth floor it's the bad guy who eventually loses out, whereas in this film, 'sean' is merely an innocent bystander, who either gets killed by the bomb or has his life taken over by colter depending on the timeline.. tough break!
still. there were some poignant touches and some entertaining groundhog day style moments. gyllenhall was decent too. not an awful film by any means providing you don't think about it too much
#4099 posted by rj on 2011/04/11 20:20:39
and speaking of alternate reality headfuck movies i recently saw eXistenZ (1999) (small e, capital x, capital zee). now that shit is fucked up. very squeamish in places but had a slightly offbeat feel which i loved, as well as working on several allegorical levels. ultimately very similar to the aforementioned thirteenth floor in terms of theme & plot (including obvious twist) but with a totally different feel and much better chemistry between the lead actors (sexiest lead character ever? discuss. and no i'm not talking about jude law)
i need to check out more cronenberg films.
also saw the machinist (2004). decent film ruined by a terribly out-of-place score - i read afterwards the screenwriter wanted trent reznor to do the music, which would have been awesome, but alas the director opted for some corny hitchcock imitation; just felt a bit wrong considering the film's grimy/industrial nature
Archer
#4100 posted by starbuck on 2011/04/11 21:25:12
anyone else watching this? Loving it pretty hard - it's an animated comedy, kinda like Arrested Development meets James Bond being a dick to everyone.
Archer Is Awesome
#4101 posted by jt_ on 2011/04/11 21:31:04
I watched the first season on netflix the other day, hilarious.
#4102 posted by Zwiffle on 2011/04/11 21:32:43
Yes Archer is pretty great. I watch it on Hulu when they're posted. Makes me want to get into more of those Adult Swim style shows, I hear good things about Venture Bros, Super Jail is pretty fucked up, etc.
#4103 posted by jt_ on 2011/04/11 21:45:22
Venture bros. is great, i actually plan on buying the first four seasons. Superjail is fucking weird, but also funny. Same goes for squidbillies, athf, robot chicken, &c. They're all i watch anymore.
Rj
#4104 posted by nitin on 2011/04/12 01:35:33
start with The Fly and then Videodrome for old school Cronenberg. Then follow up with A History of Violence and Eastern Promises and ask whether its still the same guy who made the latter two :)
#4105 posted by [Kona] on 2011/04/12 06:47:08
Nitin... which do you prefer, his old horrors or his new dramas?
I Like Both Eras
#4106 posted by Drew on 2011/04/12 07:01:17
Eastern Promises is great, as is anything with Jeff Golblum (The Fly).
I've still NEVER seen videodrome, which is crazy now that I think about it.
Kona
#4107 posted by nitin on 2011/04/12 08:54:12
I like both. I think the last two are more mature works but his earlier stuff is more zany and provocative.
Zany And Provocative
#4108 posted by nitin on 2011/04/12 08:56:11
in a good way though.
The Brood, for example, has some very interesting ideas. But something like Spider is a much more mature film.
Spider
#4109 posted by Drew on 2011/04/12 15:02:10
I remember really not being into that. Mature, yes, but kind of boring and with a not-particularly interesting or surprising twist... maybe I'd feel differently now.
#4110 posted by rj on 2011/04/12 19:25:48
spider is the only other one i've seen. it struck me as the kind of film you'd write a university paper on, analysing it as a study into mental illness along with the bleakness/loneliness/confusion that surrounds it. well made in that respect but it had absolutely zero entertainment value
cheers for the recommendations nitin.. heard much about the fly but never given it a go
Spider
#4111 posted by nitin on 2011/04/13 00:46:50
is very good IMHO, its obviously not a popcorn film but surely you dont expect that going in.
Well Obviously
#4112 posted by rj on 2011/04/13 14:05:52
but by entertainment value i don't necessarily mean popcorn factor - i didn't expect action, explosions, special effects and all that jazz - but it never really presented itself in a dramatised film format, i guess. i respect it for that as it sensitively captured the cold, bleak, depressing realism of the situation, but there just wasn't anything to [i]enjoy[/i] about it. that doesn't make it bad, obviously, and i did feel kind of better for having seen it but i wouldn't watch it again
Fair Enough
#4113 posted by nitin on 2011/04/13 14:21:46
I guess 'enjoy' is subjective. The ones I suggested dont have this issue though so come back and post your thoughts!
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