RA Movie Thread (Read 5918 times)

RunJasonRun


    The Babadook (2014)

     

    The Babadook is an Australian horror movie that has received massive acclaim over the past year, and currently has a 97% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes film site. Since this film has been playing exclusively at the Plaza in Midtown for a while now, I decided to make a trip down there last night. I do not think that The Babadook is a game-changer in horror cinema like the hype suggests, but it is one of the better films of the genre that I have seen in recent years, and it is a solid "slow burn" tale that combines terror and emotional drama in equal doses.

     

    After losing her husband in an automobile accident almost seven years ago when he was driving her to the hospital to have their baby, Amelia still struggles with grief and depression while juggling the responsibilities of her nursing home job and her duties as a single mother. Her son, Samuel, is increasingly having behavioral problems and has lately been frightened of an imaginary monster that lurks in the house. After Samuel asks his mother to read from a disturbing pop-up children's storybook, entitled Mister Babadook, a series of unnerving events begin to unfold that ultimately threaten both of their lives. The "Babadook" creature is an awesomely sinister entity that conjures comparisons with pop-up art, German Expressionist silent cinema, and the films of Georges Méliès, whose work is overtly referenced at one point in the movie. Like Roman Polanski's 1965 masterpiece, Repulsion, The Babadook excels at presenting scary supernatural sights as an allegory for mental anguish, and it proves to be quite an eerie representation of an unhinged psyche.

     

    This film, which was written and directed by Jennifer Kent, makes the most of a low budget and benefits from a wise use of cinematic influences. Essie Davis is incredible in her role as Amelia, and, in fact, I think that it's unfortunate that her work here was overlooked during the Academy Award nomination announcements. Noah Wiseman, as Samuel, delivers an impressive child actor performance.

     

    I was slightly underwhelmed by the ending of The Babadook, but the movie earns its conclusion in terms of being an examination of the real-life horrors of depression and personal demons. If you are looking for a crowd-pleaser teenage horror flick full of contrived jump scares and unimaginative found-footage effects, then go elsewhere. If, however, you want to see a flick that gets under the skin on a deeper level, then this one has my recommendation.

    Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues.

    RunJasonRun


      American Sniper (2014)

       

      One of my favorite scenes in the 1966 Sergio Leone movie, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, is the moment where Clint Eastwood's character watches Civil War soldiers fighting on a bridge, and says, "I've never seen so many men wasted so badly." A remnant of that iconic quote has reverberated since in the films that Eastwood himself has directed, and his most piercing works, like High Plains Drifter, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Firefox, Unforgiven, Mystic River, and Flags of Our Fathers/Letters from Iwo Jima, explore the havoc that violence can wreak on a person's psyche, while also examining mythologies of heroism and masculinity by comparing a public's perceptions of a hero with a hero's own inner turmoil. In his newest directorial effort, American Sniper, Eastwood balances depictions of inspiring courage displayed by soldiers on the battlefield with scenes showing both the mental and physical devastation suffered by men dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. Throughout the film, we also watch Chris Kyle, played by Bradley Cooper, being congratulated by others and carrying the nickname, "the Legend", as he struggles to come to terms with his wartime experiences and downplays his accomplishments by rightly insisting that he is simply trying to protect those around him.

       

      American Sniper is Eastwood's best work in several years, partly because of his willingness to push the envelope of his skills by exploring different film styles. His talent for framing characters against wide open spaces is matched by an ability to show the up-close-and-personal confrontations in the alleys and buildings of Iraq to the point where I often forgot that I was watching a film. Bradley Cooper, who reportedly gained almost 40 pounds for the role, looks uncannily similar to the real-life hero whom he portrays, but he is also effectively able to convey the mental anguish of a warrior off of the battlefield in the same way that Eastwood conveyed this anguish with his roles as William Munny in Unforgiven or Mitchell Gant in Firefox. I'm not sure how accurate American Sniper is to the actual events described in Kyle's autobiography of the same name, but I get the impression that the strength of this film is that it focuses on capturing the overall spirit of "the Legend" in a positive light as one of Eastwood's cinematic gunmen who are both brave and inwardly vulnerable.

       

      The heartbreaking conclusion of American Sniper is also one of its most inspiring sequences, because it shows us a man who was willing to take risks in order to continue protecting others from battlefields inside their minds from which there is often no safe return.

      Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues.


      Hip Redux

        We watched The Normal Heart tonight.    An HBO film about the AIDS epidemic in NYC based on the play by Larry Kramer.   Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, Julia Roberts, Jim Parsons and a handful of other recognizable faces.   A fantastic film, heartbreaking, gritty, and real.   We also watched Dallas Buyers Club this weekend, and I can't say that I recommend watching both back to back like that unless you really just like being depressed.

         

        stadjak


        Interval Junkie --Nobby

          American Sniper (2014) - This was a mostly derivative film.  Unfortunately, there isn't anything new explored or revealed about the unfortunate emotional trajectory of the thoughtful and earnest soldier.  Most of the sentiments are more powerfully, and more complexly portrayed, in other films like The Hurt Locker (more tormented), Zero Dark Thirty (more complex),  Survivor (better action), Savior (better "sniper" film) or  The Pacific (more fraternity driven).  Solider keeps returning to danger to save his fellow soldier, tormented by being home and alienated from "normal" life.  A man of incredible talent, humble in his excellence.  Not only is there nothing new explored in this film, but Cooper's dazed portrayal is rather thin.  His eyes just don't have the depth to convey inner torment.  The pace of the film also drags in the domestic scenes where, because this is nothing new, you feel Eastwood could have shorted scenes to 1/4 of their screen-time and suggest a lot more by reference.  Don't get me wrong.  THis isn't a bad film.  It's probably accurate to Chris Kyle's memory, but that doesn't make it a good film.  Chris Kyle is a hero, patriot and good man; there is no doubt.  But Eastwood failed to deliver a compelling movie to honor his memory. (3/5).

          2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do

          bhearn


            It's probably accurate to Chris Kyle's memory, but that doesn't make it a good film.  Chris Kyle is a hero, patriot and good man; there is no doubt.

             

            Uh. Really? I've heard good things about the movie, but this will probably keep me from seeing it.

             

            http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/06/real-american-sniper-hate-filled-killer-why-patriots-calling-hero-chris-kyle

            RunJasonRun


               

              Uh. Really? I've heard good things about the movie, but this will probably keep me from seeing it.

               

               

              The trick is to watch American Sniper as a movie on its own terms without dwelling on how accurate it is to real-life events.  It's basically another Clint Eastwood exploration of a mythological gunman figure, except that Kyle ("the Legend") happens to be sniper stationed in Iraq instead of a cowboy in the old west or a police detective in San Francisco.  The movie does not reinvent the wheel, but it worked for me as an Eastwood story that, like his other films, is more complex than people give it credit for being.

               

              Most reviewers of American Sniper have chosen to review our real-life actions in Iraq or the real-life Chris Kyle instead of reviewing the movie itself.  The result is that the no-middle-ground media polarization has taken hold with regard to the film, so that we're damned if we do and damned if we don't.  People who did not enjoy American Sniper are apparently anti-American and anti-patriotic.  Those of us who did enjoy American Sniper are apparently indoctrinated zombies who buy into the rah-rah flag-waving and like to see as many "savages" killed overseas as possible.

               

              My advice is to treat the movie as though it's a work of fiction (since all movies, even biographical movies or documentaries, are works of fiction as seen through the directed tunnel vision of a camera lens).

               

              Personally, I'm quite astounded as to how anybody could consider American Sniper to be a jingoistic film.  I found it to be quite the opposite, in fact.  I took it as Clint Eastwood's way of saying that war is hell for everyone involved.

              Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues.

              HermosaBoy


                 

                The trick is to watch American Sniper as a movie on its own terms without dwelling on how accurate it is to real-life events.  It's basically another Clint Eastwood exploration of a mythological gunman figure, except that Kyle ("the Legend") happens to be sniper stationed in Iraq instead of a cowboy in the old west or a police detective in San Francisco.  The movie does not reinvent the wheel, but it worked for me as an Eastwood story that, like his other films, is more complex than people give it credit for being.

                 

                Most reviewers of American Sniper have chosen to review our real-life actions in Iraq or the real-life Chris Kyle instead of reviewing the movie itself.  The result is that the no-middle-ground media polarization has taken hold with regard to the film, so that we're damned if we do and damned if we don't.  People who did not enjoy American Sniper are apparently anti-American and anti-patriotic.  Those of us who did enjoy American Sniper are apparently indoctrinated zombies who buy into the rah-rah flag-waving and like to see as many "savages" killed overseas as possible.

                 

                My advice is to treat the movie as though it's a work of fiction (since all movies, even biographical movies or documentaries, are works of fiction as seen through the directed tunnel vision of a camera lens).

                 

                Personally, I'm quite astounded as to how anybody could consider American Sniper to be a jingoistic film.  I found it to be quite the opposite, in fact.  I took it as Clint Eastwood's way of saying that war is hell for everyone involved.

                 

                +1

                And you can quote me as saying I was mis-quoted. Groucho Marx

                 

                Rob

                   

                  The trick is to watch American Sniper as a movie on its own terms without dwelling on how accurate it is to real-life events.  

                   

                  This is pretty much how I treat all movies that are "based on a true story". I assume there will be inaccuracies (in some cases much more than others) for dramatic purposes. I like it when they are about a subject I don't know too much about going in, so I don't have to worry about the inaccuracies getting in the way of my enjoyment of the movie. Then afterwards I always hit the interwebz to get the real story.

                  Dave

                  stadjak


                  Interval Junkie --Nobby

                    @bhearn - well, if one doesn't understand how the war experience dehumanizes the solider (and the enemy), I'm not sure I'm up to explaining it in a post on the inter-webs.  Maybe check out Generation War (2013), a German film where a very sensitive and intelligent figure is turned.  I guess I'll take back the "no doubt" part, since some people think there is.

                     

                     

                    The trick is to watch American Sniper as a movie on its own terms without dwelling on how accurate it is to real-life events.

                    . . .

                    Personally, I'm quite astounded as to how anybody could consider American Sniper to be a jingoistic film.  I found it to be quite the opposite, in fact.  I took it as Clint Eastwood's way of saying that war is hell for everyone involved.

                     

                    @RunJasonRun - yes, I think it flops as fiction.  I don't treat biopics with kidgloves just because they're labeled "true story".  Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.  Actually, I found Eastwood's treatment a bit lopsided.  Yes, he had some disgusting reaction by G.I.s to sniper hits (specifically, the first one), but almost all the Iraqis in the film are unredeemable except for the victims of The Butcher.  Even the nice man whose home the G.I.'s invade to setup a sniper spot, the man who offers them food at his table, is really storing weapons for the enemy.  And to make sure you know he's a bad-guy at heart, and not some unfortunate father caught in the middle, Eastwood has him pick up an AK-47 to fire back at the US right before he's killed.  "The Butcher" is really terrible, with too many scenes beating that into your head.  Even the Olympic Medalist Sniper on the other side is shown in poor moral light: picking off Engineers trying to build a wall.   This wasn't the problem I had with the film, but I don't think it is at all accurate to say Eastwood was being fair to the Iraqi side.

                     

                    No, there are much better war films.  There are much better Eastwood films.

                    2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do

                    RunJasonRun


                      @bhearn - well, if one doesn't understand how the war experience dehumanizes the solider (and the enemy), I'm not sure I'm up to explaining it in a post on the inter-webs.  Maybe check out Generation War (2013), a German film where a very sensitive and intelligent figure is turned.  I guess I'll take back the "no doubt" part, since some people think there is.

                       

                      If you want to see an awesome movie about a unique person being dehumanized as he becomes one of the cogs in the war machine, then watch the 1975 British film, Overlord.

                       

                      I'll agree with you that there are better war films.

                       

                      Just for the record, American Sniper did not even make my top five list of 2014.  It works for me as an Eastwood film, though, and I think that it's Eastwood's best directorial effort in recent years (although I think that Hereafter is underrated).

                      Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues.

                      RunJasonRun


                        John Wick (2014)

                         

                        Soon after John Wick, played by Keanu Reeves, loses his wife due to a terminal illness, he receives a posthumous gift from her. A puppy arrives at his doorstep with a message from her that she had prearranged the delivery so that he will not have to grieve alone, and so that he will be able to love again. This rather sappy exposition comes to an abrupt halt when three criminals, who have broken into Wick's house to steal his Mustang, beat him within an inch of his life and then kill his puppy. The criminals, led by the spoiled son of a powerful New York City mobster, return to the city, oblivious to the fact that their misdeeds are about to catch up to them in a bad way. It turns out that John Wick has a few dark secrets of his own, along with skills that enable him to leave a wide trail of corpses and explosions in his wake during his relentless quest for revenge.

                         

                        John Wick is not one of those movies that will make you a better person or challenge you with highbrow intellectual themes, but it does have an endless supply of intensely violent action scenes of the old-school variety for folks who miss the straightforward beatdowns that were once administered by the likes of Lee Marvin, Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, Michael Dudikoff, or even Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. In other words, this is not some watered-down PG-13 flick based on popular young adult novels. This movie benefits from fun cinematography and from a strong supporting cast, including Willem Dafoe, Michael Nyqvist, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, and even the gorgeous Adrianne Palicki, who plays an assassin hired by the gangsters to stop Wick in his vengeful tracks.

                         

                        John Wick may have sidestepped the Best Picture nominations list, but it was still well worth the couple of dollars that I paid for a rental from the Redbox booth down the street. If you like solid action flicks and/or you don't like people who hurt puppies, then I recommend this one to you. John Wick has it all, even the obligatory slow-motion shot of Keanu Reeves walking away from a fire.

                        Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues.


                        Evolving body parts

                          John Wick (2014)

                           

                           

                          I don't do this kind of ranting usually, but since you brought this up...

                           

                          I can sit through even the worst of movies, but not this one. Had to walk out. I was fooled by the IMDB ratings (obviously hacked by the moviemakers or done by juvenile 'graphic novel' fans) and the fact that it had KR.

                           

                          Just 2 things out of the many more:

                           

                          1. How come everybody and I mean everybody knows JW by name and reputation, even the hotel clerks etc but poor mafia boy or his half wit grunts have never heard of him? Came on, now. Never talks with his daddy? Or hears the name passing around in their circles?

                           

                          2. JW retired not tool long ago. All the reflexes and skills are there. However, he dumbly walks down the stairs into a trap made by a handful of bored carstealing doped idiots? After alerted by a dog?

                           

                          +1 Seriously. Track down somebody for his Mustang and start a war? What a lame excuse for a plot device? Why not wait for tomorrow and steal it so there's less evidence etc? How stupid do you have to be to take this all in?

                           

                          And don't get me started on the randomly shooting of guys around the corners, across walls, then consistently shooting them in the head close range.

                           

                          Thanks, that was a lifetime worth of idiocy and violence.

                          RunJasonRun


                             

                            I don't do this kind of ranting usually, but since you brought this up...

                             

                            I can sit through even the worst of movies, but not this one. Had to walk out. I was fooled by the IMDB ratings (obviously hacked by the moviemakers or done by juvenile 'graphic novel' fans) and the fact that it had KR.

                             

                            Just 2 things out of the many more:

                             

                            1. How come everybody and I mean everybody knows JW by name and reputation, even the hotel clerks etc but poor mafia boy or his half wit grunts have never heard of him? Came on, now. Never talks with his daddy? Or hears the name passing around in their circles?

                             

                            2. JW retired not tool long ago. All the reflexes and skills are there. However, he dumbly walks down the stairs into a trap made by a handful of bored carstealing doped idiots? After alerted by a dog?

                             

                            +1 Seriously. Track down somebody for his Mustang and start a war? What a lame excuse for a plot device? Why not wait for tomorrow and steal it so there's less evidence etc? How stupid do you have to be to take this all in?

                             

                            And don't get me started on the randomly shooting of guys around the corners, across walls, then consistently shooting them in the head close range.

                             

                            Thanks, that was a lifetime worth of idiocy and violence.

                             

                            One definitely has to be willing to suspend disbelief to enjoy a movie like John Wick, but that can pretty much be said of any film.

                             

                            I recently saw a rather divisive film, Lucy, which stars Scarlett Johansson, and I had a blast with it, although the entire premise is based on junk science that has been debunked several times over.  John Wick is not quite that much of a stretch, but it's pretty close.  Either way, I simply left my logic at the door, and enjoyed rolling along with the movie.

                            Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues.

                            mab411


                            Proboscis Colossus

                               

                              This is pretty much how I treat all movies that are "based on a true story". I assume there will be inaccuracies (in some cases much more than others) for dramatic purposes. I like it when they are about a subject I don't know too much about going in, so I don't have to worry about the inaccuracies getting in the way of my enjoyment of the movie. Then afterwards I always hit the interwebz to get the real story.

                               

                              +1

                               

                              It is for this exact reason that I'm holding off looking up info on the subject matter of Foxcatcher.

                              "God guides us on our journey, but careful with those feet." - David Lee Roth, of all people

                              zoom-zoom


                              rectumdamnnearkilledem

                                We saw The Imitation Game the other night.  My DH, myself, and our nearly 14 year old son all sat riveted.  It's a great story made all the more fascinating by some exceptional acting.  I'm not sure anyone can do high-functioning autism better than Benedict Cumberbatch (see also Sherlock) and my own ASD child really identified with that aspect of the story, but there is some question as to whether Turing was, indeed, on the spectrum at all.  There appears to be some heavy liberties taken WRT Turing's personality and other events portrayed in the film.

                                 

                                Regardless of inconsistencies between reality and the film's tale, it was a really suspenseful and emotionally-gripping story.  While there are questions regarding the circumstances of his death (not all are convinced he died by his own hands.  There are some theories that he may have been murdered), the chemical castration he was required to undergo really was tragically barbaric...in some ways no less abusive than the atrocities meted out by the Nazis whose codes the Brits were attempting to break.  This was a man who undoubtedly would have continued to apply his mathematical brilliance to future great projects, but was instead punished dearly for sexuality out of his control.

                                Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                                remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                                     ~ Sarah Kay