Hi,
Thanks for the recommendations, to you and kandrathe. I'll give them a shot (and perhaps rant or rave as needed):)
--Pete
EDIT: Rather than adding additional posts to this thread, I'll make my comments in edits.
The International: A well executed tailing sequence, locations across a third of the world, some good (understandable) Italian, and a machine pistol shoot-out in the Guggenheim. What's not to like?:) I agree with kandrathe's cliché comment. Besides the plot, there were a number of visual and audible clichés -- as well as a couple of Zen koan like statements. In some ways, it struck me as being something like Adam Hall would have written (anyone else remember Quiller?) except not as polished. Well worth the time.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind : Almost shut it down after 30 minutes which was only a little bit after the opening credit. The delayed opening credits and the Joycean time loop trick were only two of the blatant movie clichés that marred this film. The plot was entirely too complex, with too many stories intertwining, and just too much coincidence. It was almost as if the writer, unable to come up with one good story, decided to give us four (or five?) mediocre ones. The supporting roles were all caricatures -- stock amoral scientist, stock nerdy and irresponsible lab rats, stock druggie bubble-head secretary, and stock jealous and jaded wife. The main characters were somewhat more interesting, but not very likable. At the end of the movie, I really didn't give much of a damn what happened to them. I hesitated between giving it two or three stars, decided on three because of the interesting, existential, way they handled the dream sequences.
The Proposition : The opening credits were to the sound of a little kid (kids?) singing. That's one of my pet peeves. The opening scene is an overly violent gunfight. That's two more of my pet peeves -- starting in media res and unnecessary violence. Besides, I find gunfights and car chases to be two of the most boring clichés in film making. Once I got past that, I sat through another half hour of poor acting, insipid dialog (they need Clint Eastwood and his red pencil), nice pictures of ugly scenery, and total lack of plot development before I shut it off. Two stars, and one was almost a gift.
The Royal Tenenbaums: I made it 30 minutes into this one. I don't know if that 30 minutes were prologue and the real film would eventually start, or if the whole thing was going to be that boring -- and I no longer care. There was great potential there but not much was done with it and I got tired of waiting. There are, literally, millions of books I haven't read and movies I haven't seen, so I see no reason to spend my time on anything I don't fully enjoy. I can't really analyze why I didn't enjoy this one -- probably just a matter of taste.
Lost: Early impression (we've only watched the pilot and the first three or four shows). Sue (Magi) loves it. I'm enjoying it a lot for the interesting concept and the strong character presentations. The interactions among the characters are interesting and, so far, interestingly developed through successive levels. Personally, I have a hard time getting past a number of technical issues such as the inconsistency of the wreckage field and the existence of survivors, the break up of a plane by a downdraft, the loss of all (mutually redundant) communication systems, the existence of a radio beacon which has run apparently unattended for 16 years, and the use of cell phones to pick up that signal (clearly, whoever wrote that has no concept of frequency, types of modulation, and encoding). My other problems are believing that so few people would act rationally in those circumstances, and that any sane person would destroy one of their greatest assets (the fuselage) to make a pyre which they could just as easily have built on the open beach. We'll see how well they do as the stories unfold -- I'll add more (maybe) later.
Quote: . . . (and I know Pete also has instant watch from netflix) . . .I do, indeed, and love it. It is a great way to check out films that you'd otherwise give a pass. No need to spend any time or effort -- simply start it and if it isn't to your taste, one click and it's gone. I know, I sound like an ad for NetFlix, but it really is great. I just wish that there were more available. Some of the ones I'd like to check out are still DVD only.
Thanks for the recommendations, to you and kandrathe. I'll give them a shot (and perhaps rant or rave as needed):)
--Pete
EDIT: Rather than adding additional posts to this thread, I'll make my comments in edits.
The International: A well executed tailing sequence, locations across a third of the world, some good (understandable) Italian, and a machine pistol shoot-out in the Guggenheim. What's not to like?:) I agree with kandrathe's cliché comment. Besides the plot, there were a number of visual and audible clichés -- as well as a couple of Zen koan like statements. In some ways, it struck me as being something like Adam Hall would have written (anyone else remember Quiller?) except not as polished. Well worth the time.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind : Almost shut it down after 30 minutes which was only a little bit after the opening credit. The delayed opening credits and the Joycean time loop trick were only two of the blatant movie clichés that marred this film. The plot was entirely too complex, with too many stories intertwining, and just too much coincidence. It was almost as if the writer, unable to come up with one good story, decided to give us four (or five?) mediocre ones. The supporting roles were all caricatures -- stock amoral scientist, stock nerdy and irresponsible lab rats, stock druggie bubble-head secretary, and stock jealous and jaded wife. The main characters were somewhat more interesting, but not very likable. At the end of the movie, I really didn't give much of a damn what happened to them. I hesitated between giving it two or three stars, decided on three because of the interesting, existential, way they handled the dream sequences.
The Proposition : The opening credits were to the sound of a little kid (kids?) singing. That's one of my pet peeves. The opening scene is an overly violent gunfight. That's two more of my pet peeves -- starting in media res and unnecessary violence. Besides, I find gunfights and car chases to be two of the most boring clichés in film making. Once I got past that, I sat through another half hour of poor acting, insipid dialog (they need Clint Eastwood and his red pencil), nice pictures of ugly scenery, and total lack of plot development before I shut it off. Two stars, and one was almost a gift.
The Royal Tenenbaums: I made it 30 minutes into this one. I don't know if that 30 minutes were prologue and the real film would eventually start, or if the whole thing was going to be that boring -- and I no longer care. There was great potential there but not much was done with it and I got tired of waiting. There are, literally, millions of books I haven't read and movies I haven't seen, so I see no reason to spend my time on anything I don't fully enjoy. I can't really analyze why I didn't enjoy this one -- probably just a matter of taste.
Lost: Early impression (we've only watched the pilot and the first three or four shows). Sue (Magi) loves it. I'm enjoying it a lot for the interesting concept and the strong character presentations. The interactions among the characters are interesting and, so far, interestingly developed through successive levels. Personally, I have a hard time getting past a number of technical issues such as the inconsistency of the wreckage field and the existence of survivors, the break up of a plane by a downdraft, the loss of all (mutually redundant) communication systems, the existence of a radio beacon which has run apparently unattended for 16 years, and the use of cell phones to pick up that signal (clearly, whoever wrote that has no concept of frequency, types of modulation, and encoding). My other problems are believing that so few people would act rationally in those circumstances, and that any sane person would destroy one of their greatest assets (the fuselage) to make a pyre which they could just as easily have built on the open beach. We'll see how well they do as the stories unfold -- I'll add more (maybe) later.
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?