icecreamdisco presents: THE YEAR IN FILM (2 Viewers)

[Benny_]

Broken Flowers has replaced Last Days on my top 10. Last Days moves to honourable mentions.

 

[icecreamdisco]

Broken Flowers has replaced Last Days on my top 10.

i loved it too. just curious, did you see it thursday @ the academy norton st preview?

 

[Paragon]

I'm going to chuck in 'Hotel Rwanda' as I'm not totally sure / can't remember if it's an '04/'05 release.

Anyway, top movie. And if it's an '04er, oh well.

 

[Benny_]

i loved it too. just curious, did you see it thursday @ the academy norton st preview?

Haha.. I wish, I'm stuck in Canberra with my parents right now. Nah, I saw it on my computer

 

[walrusbear]

icecream: i have a spare movie pass to Dendy and i was considering seeing Thumbsucker (broken flowers is on 'no free list'). i noticed you rated it as 'not good' - how 'not good' are we talking? completely awful or worth watching for some redeeming value?

i guess the real question here, and it goes out to anyone who's seen it, should i rate for a DVD release or go see it?

 

[walrusbear]

i don't think i saw enough this year to warrant a top ten list, but i saw Good Night and Good Luck yesterday and i'd have to say it's up there

clooney seems to have a somewhat more unique style in this film (i remember confessions looked like soderbergh was supervising every shot). anyways, it's beautifully shot, nice ensemble cast and a very pertinent movie about media essentially. one of my favourites for 2005

 

[icecreamdisco]

icecream: i have a spare movie pass to Dendy and i was considering seeing Thumbsucker (broken flowers is on 'no free list'). i noticed you rated it as 'not good' - how 'not good' are we talking? completely awful or worth watching for some redeeming value?

it has a few redeeming qualities (good performances, esp. tilda swinton) and it gets better as it progresses, but overall it's the same clean-cut 'hallmark indie film' bullshit (sountrack by elliott smith and the polyphonic spree- go figure) that suggests the suburbs are full of overmedicated losers and ignorant parents and everyone's better off moving to the city. ironic that a film that tell us 'it's ok to be different' is so cliched an unimaginative. compare it to me and you and everyone you know's depiction of suburbia and it seems especially simplistic.

but yeah, most people liked it, so maybe you will too. i'd be interested to hear what you think.

 

[walrusbear]

i'll go see it then
it seemed to be self-consciously 'indie' (calls to memory 'igby goes down')
i don't mind a decent suburban bash now and then (though there seems to be plenty of it floating around these days), but only if its done well

i'm slightly annoyed i missed me and you and everyone you know.

btw, what were your thoughts on palindromes (sorry if its been covered already)? are you a todd solondz fan in general? he seems willing to attack any side to an issue - and not in a trey parker kind of way

 

[icecreamdisco]

haven't seen palindromes yet, but i wanna. i liked storytelling more than most, and happiness is amazing.

 

[nwatts]

I saw Millions and I thought it was utterly fantastic. Shame you didn't enjoy icecream, as I thought it was wonderful. Great little kid actors, beautiful cinematography, a sweet but not spielbergish story. One of the few "feel good" films I enjoyed. Can't wait to buy it on DVD.

I also recently caught Hitchhiker's, which is going into the "worst of 05" catagory. Bad adaptation. A real shame. War of the Worlds was going brilliantly for the first hour ten, and then it just turned to utter shit. They should have written an entirely new ending, as it killed the entire picture. The Edukators was a lot of fun. A good little comedy/thriller from Germany. It was a tad too long, but an enjoyable film.

 

[nwatts]

Watched Broken Flowers, and I must say, it's one of (if not the) best of the year. Such a good film.

 

[walrusbear]

yeah i agree
broken flowers is probably my favourite from last year

 

[Benny_]

I agree with that as well, although I'm still preparing to be blown away by Munich (no pun intended) and Match Point.

 

[icecreamdisco]

millions wasn't a bad film, but nearly everything about it rubbed me in the wrong way, especially the spiritual elements and the very final shot. i think danny boyle definitely works better with more overtly dark material. i can understand how people would like it, so it's a bit unfair to put it in the same category as crash, which i don't understand the love for at all (well, i do, but i actively object to it).

Match Point.

seeing the trailer to this in a packed house before broken flowers and watching everyone freak out at "FROM DIRECTOR WOODY ALLEN" was almost as entertaining as the film that followed. never have i seen such a strong reaction to a movie trailer before.

 

[icecreamdisco]

and i've added russian dolls and the family stone to the honorable mentions, and mrs. henderson presents to the 'entertaining but forgettable' one.

i was surprised by the family stone in particular. fantastic cast all at the top of their game.

 

[nwatts]

I agree with that as well, although I'm still preparing to be blown away by Munich (no pun intended) and Match Point.

Yeah i'm interested as to Munich too. I don't like Spielberg films, but from what i've read, this is a branch from his regular style. I also did the Arab-Israel conflict as a study unit as part of modern for the 05 HSC, so I'm interested as to how accurate the film is to what we consider as what actually happened. Tony Kushner wrote the film, which for me is probably its biggest drawcard, as he blew me away with Angels in America.

Match Point just looks great. Can't wait. It's a big three of American films i'm really highly anticipating - Jarhead, Match Point and The New World.

 

[nwatts]

millions wasn't a bad film, but nearly everything about it rubbed me in the wrong way, especially the spiritual elements and the very final shot. i think danny boyle definitely works better with more overtly dark material. i can understand how people would like it, so it's a bit unfair to put it in the same category as crash, which i don't understand the love for at all (well, i do, but i actively object to it).

Ah ok. I enjoy watching spirituality portrayed in film, and millions took a different angle to what I expected, which I was really pleased with. Boyle's a very fine filmmaker, tho - Trainspotting/28 days later/Millions - three very different, and all brilliant films. A bit of a favourite of mine.

 

[crazyhomo]

Ah ok. I enjoy watching spirituality portrayed in film, and millions took a different angle to what I expected, which I was really pleased with. Boyle's a very fine filmmaker, tho - Trainspotting/28 days later/Millions - three very different, and all brilliant films. A bit of a favourite of mine.

what did you think of the beach?

 

[nwatts]

what did you think of the beach?

Pretty crap. He was given too much money. It didn't feel like his film, it felt like hollywood. Some of it had a good vibe/atmosphere to it, but on a whole, not a good film. Leo also turned a crappy performance, and he is easily a very capable actor, so the contrast emphasised a poor effort.

 

[walrusbear]

Yeah i'm interested as to Munich too. I don't like Spielberg films, but from what i've read, this is a branch from his regular style. I also did the Arab-Israel conflict as a study unit as part of modern for the 05 HSC, so I'm interested as to how accurate the film is to what we consider as what actually happened. Tony Kushner wrote the film, which for me is probably its biggest drawcard, as he blew me away with Angels in America.

Match Point just looks great. Can't wait. It's a big three of American films i'm really highly anticipating - Jarhead, Match Point and The New World.

it's a common thing for people to 'poo-poo' Spielberg, and whilst he has made some shithouse movies, he also directed Raiders of the Lost Ark. He sure knows how to pace an adventure (The Duel is not too bad either).

I'd really love for Match Point to be excellent, i really would. I'd love to actually believe that Woody was back in form