...turns out I don't need to hassle my v-rental guy at all, they already have it on video. 

And it's got guys with those cool old style industrial goggles... :o

I'll buy that for a dollar. Sold to the man with the industrial imagery fetish. Off to vstore I go... 

SNATCH <--- ROZPIERDALA \m/ 

I can't believe noone's posted about this in here. I would have earlier, had I seen the thread pop back up again, but figured it had finally died off...

Anyways, the film is not that long, or at least doesn't seem like it, mainly because the experience of some of the scenes detract from your observance of time (at least that was my take, mebbe others would have the opposite view). Yes, it is gory, and violent, and no, it's far from the standard Holiday Bio-Pic of Everyone's Favorite Saviour -- which, of course, is the first thing I dug about it. After all the passion spoken of in the case of Christ's is indeed the farthest thing possible from Don Juan DeMarco.

If I had a verdict on it, I would oddly enough recall the words of William Friedkin when he spoke of the appeal (or not) of his film The Exorcist -- that it only gives the viewer what they bring to it. If the person in question is a Christian, and if the presence or archetype of Jesus has any sort of impact upon them, they will be moved by this film (I know I was, having had a Baptist upbringing -- I was most moved by the shots of Christ's hands when he struggled with what he had been dealt with -- a nice touch, and effective). It is rather well done overall, with gorgeous cinematography, wonderful acting (James Caviesel gives a dramatic performance without overdoing it -- which a lot of fake Jesuses do -- and in Aramaic, no less!), but on the minus side, ol' Mel does milk the 'THIS is in SLOW-MOTION because it is IMPORTANT' shots, and the score does get a bit melodramatic in places, which always detracts from the viewing experience for me. But again, overall I found it to be a solid production, and an experience to have, at least once. No, I won't be getting this one on DVD. 

I rarely have the patience to watch movies in theaters these days. I'm sure I'll see it on DVD given my brother is likely to get it.

This movie is like a Rorshash test definitely. I remember seeing Friedkin saying those remarks, and elaborating that a Christian viewing the Exorcist would likely see that the Priest prevailed upon the demon, and a materialist would see the exact opposite in the same event.

However, there are those who have slandered Mel gravely. Frank Rich and Abe Foxman come to mind and I will never respect the opinion of either man again given the intemperence and intolerence they displayed. 

since you are the resident horror buff, would you recommend the new texas chainsaw massacre to someone who hasnt seen the first one? 

To be honest, I haven't seen the new one yet -- I am gonna rent and watch mebbe next week. I've been told by some people at work who saw it at the theater that it is horrible, not even remotely scary and really dumb =D That on it's own could be a reason to avoid it, but silly me, I'm still curious ;)

But to actually answer your question, it might be a better idea not to have seen the original, I'd bet. I have, and it's a lot of fun -- nothing really like what came later with the slasher flicks of the 80s, but some effectively creepy moments and a bit of gallows humor here and there. Films in the 70s had a more 'experimental' feel to them, and tended to wind at their own pace, but the original TCM still rolls along really well, and has plenty of shocks and creeps along the way. I would bet the new version would have none of this, and might miss those little touches Tobe Hooper delivered in the first movie.

Bottom Line: Rent both, but I'd watch the original last -- you may appreciate it more. 

I meant, to do the title and the name opposite, jeez. 

Yeah, one of my fave things about The Exorcist -- and something you really don't seen in films nowadays -- is that the ending of the film is left ambiguous -- there is a resolution, but no "spin" to put it in one side of the court or another. Unfortunately, most films that simply show a story instead of leading the audience by the nose to tell them a story are Eastern and Western audiences apparently don't care to think much when they go to the movies anymore. 

the opening scene to the Exorcist? For me, it not so much sets the tone for the movie, but is an odd sort of moment in itself. The man stands toe to toe, face to face on an equal playing field with the abomination, and it at least appears that his mind is being consumed. It goes back to the old Philip K Dick question, how do you distinguish between an intense religious experience and a psychotic episode. 

The former doesn't exist and the latter does. Hey! I'm pretty good at this! 

except for the constant bleeding from my palms that just about covers all aspects of the matter; well, then there is this . . . . http://www.lewrockwell.com/spectator/spec261.html 

Well, the whole character of Merrin rocks, because he's more of a shaman than your typical priest. His spirituality completely affects his vision, he is the man who literally does see God in the details. He can read the signs, and immediately knows what is to come, and what he must do. Pazuzu has opened the door, and gotten his foot in, and Merrin is waiting for his head to poke through =D 

I liked it. However, I don't feel like collecting my thoughts about it and coming up with something constructive, so I'll just post this conversation from IRC last night:

<RPG|h0t> BTW: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a fairly cool movie.
<RPG|h0t> Kaufman == teh r4wkest
<scampie> is it ok? i was hearing it'd suck
<scampie> mostly going on the fact jim carrey is in it
<RPG|h0t> Yeah it's pretty good. Not as deep as I thought it would be, but good.
<RPG|h0t> Acting is pretty tops, too.
<Asaki> What's wrong with Jim Carrey?
<Asaki> He doesn't do that Mask/Ace crap anymore.
<Asaki> Hasn't for a long time.
<scampie> Asaki: you mean, besides only being good in only... 2 movies?
<Asaki> I loved The Cable Guy.
<RPG|h0t> Jim Carrey doesn't do his Ace Ventura deal, so if that's what you're after you'll be disappointed.
<Asaki> RPG: No, I'm saying the Ace Ventura thing was crap.
<RPG|h0t> Meh you have no taste.
<RPG|h0t> But Carrey is good in Eternal Sunshine.
<RPG|h0t> Anyway, it's worth seeing, especially if you get to sit next to a hot girl like I did.
<RPG|h0t> Unfortunately, she was with her boyfriend. :/ 

How fitting that post 404 is about a movie that has memory loss as a central plot device. 

How fitting that post 404 is about a movie that has memory loss as a central plot device.


I was going to say something funny about that, but I've forgotten what it was. 

 

The Corporation:
I disagreed with a lot of it, but it was well done and an interesting piece.

Hellboy:
It was ok, nothing spectacular.

If you could only see one of the two, see the former. 

Hah, I made a funny. 

As bad as Pearl Harbor in subjecting American History to the Hollywood formula? As far as historical war movies go, Tora, Tora, Tora, and the Thin Red Line are my personal favorites. A notch down but certainly worth seeing Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan; Stephen Lange's portrayal of Gen. Thomas Jackson in Gods and Generals was really first rate though the movie itself could have been trimmed down an hour in editing without losing anything. I don't think I would recommend it except to those who are inclined towards Civil War History. 

a movie about historical figures too stupid to get out of a cul de sac while the getting was good being worth my time. 

But it's ok to spoil it because you shouldn't be seeing this movie.

I don't give a rat's ass about american history, The Alamo was just a bad movie. The director tried to set up a bunch of characters for the audience to care about for when they get slaughtered. Only he did a half assed job.

For example: one of the guys is Bowie, the inventor of a stupid looking knife. He has this vision of some girl standing in his backyard. 20 minutes later he's dying of fever for no reason and we find out that the girl he envisioned is his dead (for no reason) wife. 20 minutes after that this mexican girl taking care of him starts to make out with him. Then we find out that that's his dead wife's sister. It was a real wtf moment. 

You are out cynicizing me and doing a damn good job of it! 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0224345/

saw it a couple of days ago on tv and I can recommen watching it. Unpredictable story wich keeps it interesting and some scenes in an abondoned hotel with excellent atmosphere making you want to do a resident evil like game set in that hotel just because it was so cool. 

may have mentioned some already, cant remember

to catch a thief - good, hardly suspenseful but pretty funny.

this is spinal tap - I probably missed half the jokes since I'm not into this music scene but it was quite funny regardless. 18 inch stonehenge props rock.

sunset boulevard - quite good, though the acting occasionally gets annoying.

the hustler - pacing could be slightly better but very well made. Newman was great in this.

annie hall - th eonly woody allen film I have so far liked. Very funny stuff.

amadeus- good acting and story, interesting viewpoint and take on Mozart.

about schmidt - funny and poignant at the same time, jack nicholson is in good form too.

boogie nights - nto much beyond the pyrotechnic style but it's qutie dazzling nevertheless.

25th hour - fine film but I thought 2 sequences in the film hurt it pretty badly, the speech in the restroom and the dream sequence near the end. Otherwise, probably spkie lee's most accessible film, along with one of his best.

intolerable cruelty - coen bros lite but the first forty minutes were an absolute blast as were the last 10.

texas chainsaw massacre - Pushplay was right, very poor and a big waste of time.

SWAT - absolute rubbish, havent been this bored in quite a while.

rebecca - striking viusals (probably some of the best lighting ever) but it's extremely boring and poorly paced. Very un-Hitchcock.

the birds - dated visuals and poor acting, but the direction is top notch and it is quite creepy in parts.