Inception was awesome!!!!!

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Originally posted by Battle_of_Twits:

Anyone seen Inception yet? I have seen it twice - it was mind-blowing.

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Yes, I saw it (twice). I think it's easily the best movie of the year. I'm not sure if it's the best of all time as some are saying, but I'd say it cracks my personal list for Top Ten Movies of All Time. It's not like I keep a list in my wallet or anything; I don't know what would rank in my top 10, just that Inception would likely be in it. One of my friends hasn't seen it yet, so I may see it a third time so he's not alone. We almost watched it last night, except he's worried about the running time of the film and didn't want to leave the theaters past midnight.

One of my co-workers won't go see it, because in his words:

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If I can't figure out what the movie is about from the trailer, I won't go see it. The movie looks too confusing. I don't understand what's happening.

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1. Pulp Fiction (I love Tarrintino's dark humor and how he likes to seemingly make things overly dramatized/serious/shocking until something nuts happens that shocks you into laughing. The needle in Uma's chest scene still haunts me to this day, i cant watch it, but it plays in my head when the movie is on)
2. Saving Private Ryan (Tom Hanks + Spielberg is amazing, the visuals and brutality of the movie, plus the story and just how it was filmed in the destroyed, but still somehow beautiful landscape and lighting.
3. Big Fish (The tim burton movie that it seems no one has seen, and is also probably the best. Its a kind of magical twist of reality and fantasy and the ending gets me chocked up no matter how many times i watch it, and that is saying something)
4. Hard Candy (the first movie that brought attention to Ellen page's career and partially ruined juno for me, only 5 actors in the entire movie, slow paced but the colors accented and the way it was filmed just add to the sheer brutality of her performance, this movie is actually kinda hard to watch)
5. The End of Evangelion (ok so a movie based on an Anime seems kinda weird, and it is, everything seems to be going fine and then everything gets shot to hell right away, and creates almost a psychological thriller that can be quite disturbing. Also the symbolism and that is thrown in about all the cults and everything are amazing to see that much depth in little details u normally wouldnt see)
6. Caddyshack (first comedy on my list, and i really dont know what to say, its a classic, Bill Murray is a comedic genius, plus i'm a golfer so win win win for me)
7. Inception (here it is, see reasons above lol)
8. Children of Men (the story is alright, not quite the best, but i love the way it was filmed, there are several scenes that are filmed as continuous shots with the camera never cutting, just panning around. The movie has such a gritty feel and the scenery makes it seem like the end of the world, but again, the way it was filmed was great)
9. The Princess Bride (a PG rated (some can argue chick flick) on my list? yup, its fantastic, several intertwining stories and one of the greatest love stories ever in my opinion without a lot of the sappy feel of some of the others (again imo lol))
10. From Dusk Till Dawn (Rodriguez teams up with Tarrntino and starts the movie as a serious as ever drama that in the middle turns into one of the most humorous things ever when stripper selma hayek turns into a vampire at a mexican club and the story almost does a complete turn around)

Se7en - a gripping murder mystery that really gives the audience a definitive deadline. We know that there will be seven murders, but we also watch with anticipation, hoping that the two detectives will figure it out before the last.

Usual Suspects - The best kind of storytelling, where a mythic character and a mystery is introduced and details unravel slowly. Who is Keyser Soze and why did a ship go down in flames?

Children of Men - Visually spectacular to the point where you feel like you are right behind the protagonists shoulder, watching events happen. You want to root for him, fighting against all odds to save humanity.

Silence of the Lambs - Another hunt for a serial killer; the best of all the Hannibal movies, there is a real scary combination of a vulnerable detective, determined to find the truth and prove herself and heal old wounds, while forging a pact with the devil to hear his secrets.

Inception - Amazingly beautiful, and the story unfolds with so many simultaneous events it tests your ability to keep it all straight, while still dealing with the biggest question of all that's been around since the earliest philosphers - what is REAL?

Shawshank Redemption - One of the only truly innocent prison members paired up with one of the only truly guilty prison members, do you fight against corruption and greed or do you let hope die and be content with your life in a cage?

Goodfellas - one of the best movies of its genre (although many will put Godfather far ahead of my choice), an entire story is told through a narrative, from the beginning as you see what it is really like to live his life and how enticing and dangerous it can be.

Pulp Fiction - Hilarious, captivating, and all out of sequence, yet woven together just with enough finesse that you can see the whole story if you stand back. A great story with a very large number of characters who manage to have their individual stories told through several spliced scenes.

Rain Man - Tom Cruise at his best, playing one of the first of his copied roles; he's a self-centered jerk who comes to learn what's really important and change his life. Only, life doesn't always reward self-discovery.

As for newly movies that just got on dvd that I really liked:

1. The Runaways (I love Joan Jett and OMGZ Kristen looks SO MUCH like her it's amazing!).

2. Creation (Darwin's story of his book).

__________________
OGB: If I'm paying $8.00 for a Revised Disk, it better come with a reach around.

5 minutes of Thor footage shown at comic-con.

How it hasn't been taken down yet, I don't know.

1. Snatch
2. Shawshank Redemption
3. Fight Club
4. The Boondock Saints
5. The Usual Suspects

__________________
OGB: If I'm paying $8.00 for a Revised Disk, it better come with a reach around.

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Originally posted by speechjew:
http://www.jivid.com/?p=6809

5 minutes of Thor footage shown at comic-con.

How it hasn't been taken down yet, I don't know.

It's awesome.

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~MM

__________________
I am MeddlingMage...YOUR Motl Survivor 11 Champion and 2007 Captain N award winner.

MafiaBass (9:48:50 PM): sorry my keyboard is sticky
MeddlingEric (9:48:56 PM): ewwww
MafiaBass (9:51:43 PM): FTR, I did not show you my e-pee-pee

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Originally posted by Pod5f:
I just picked up Requiem for a Dream and lesson learned. Don't do drugs. It was disturbing and well done, hard to watch at some parts though, the theme song is still stuck in my head

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I felt the ending was a little convoluted and the whole "scott's ex girlfriend" storyline was underutilized (i'm not familiar with the comic book, but if she and ramona had fought it would have made for a much better ending).

A solid 7.5/10.

I'm gonna spoil one of the best, funniest lines of the movie.

2 good movies.

~MM

__________________
I am MeddlingMage...YOUR Motl Survivor 11 Champion and 2007 Captain N award winner.

MafiaBass (9:48:50 PM): sorry my keyboard is sticky
MeddlingEric (9:48:56 PM): ewwww
MafiaBass (9:51:43 PM): FTR, I did not show you my e-pee-pee

By far my favorite movie. Great (but not greatest) composition, but by far greatest narrative and presentation I've ever seen.

FTR these are the films I've seen in the class so far:
1. The Graduate
2. Bonnie and Clyde
3. Drugstore Cowboy
4. Citizen Kane
5. Psycho (in my top 3 favorite movies)
6. Fargo
7. Dead Man Walking
8. Usual Suspects

__________________
(Humans) are stubborn, self-destructive conformists. Any other view of our species is just self-congratulatory delusion. Next Question."
-- Michael Crichton, The Lost World

Storyline is very linear, I didn't feel anything for any of the characters. Especially Leo's character was extremely annoying. Anything done in this movie story-wise was already done in eXistenz (and better). Visuals were great, but that doesn't make or break a movie anymore in my view.

Seriously the only explanation for it's succes is that dumb people can talk to eachother about how complicated it was and congratulate eachother with understanding what it was all about.

That being said, Inception is probably still in my top 5 for the year (mostly because of the scenes in the hotel). Yeah, this year was a real stinker.

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Originally posted by Cyno:
Inception was horrible, I don't get what all the fuss is about.

Storyline is very linear, I didn't feel anything for any of the characters. Especially Leo's character was extremely annoying. Anything done in this movie story-wise was already done in eXistenz (and better). Visuals were great, but that doesn't make or break a movie anymore in my view.

Seriously the only explanation for it's succes is that dumb people can talk to eachother about how complicated it was and congratulate eachother with understanding what it was all about.

That being said, Inception is probably still in my top 5 for the year (mostly because of the scenes in the hotel). Yeah, this year was a real stinker.

Bugger, I see you watched The Graduate. What were your opinions about it? I found it to be very dated and hard to relate to because society changed so much since it was released. I can see how great it once was, but in my experience it didn't age well.

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is cyno short for "cynical?"

Yes, the Fred-Astaire moments in the hotel were awesome. I don't understand how you can call a movie "horrible" but still have it as a top-5 movie of the year? It's in my top-5, along with Kick-ass, Scott Pilgrim vs. the world, Toy Story 3, and The Social Network.

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Originally posted by Cyno:
Inception was horrible, I don't get what all the fuss is about.

Storyline is very linear, I didn't feel anything for any of the characters. Especially Leo's character was extremely annoying. Anything done in this movie story-wise was already done in eXistenz (and better). Visuals were great, but that doesn't make or break a movie anymore in my view.

Seriously the only explanation for it's succes is that dumb people can talk to eachother about how complicated it was and congratulate eachother with understanding what it was all about.

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My take, after learning **** about movies:
Inception is quality summer blockbuster, nothing much more. The "mindfreak" plot is complexity for its own sake, and the movie often fails to follow its own logic, blatantly so. However, the effects were excellent, and I don't feel overdone at all (these are dreams, after all, they're supposed to be insane yet realistic). Intellectually I wasn't impressed. It doesn't leave you with lots of questions, not just about the film but philosophical ones in general (I'm about to shoot my own credibility in the foot with this, but I found The Dark Knight to be a more intellectually stimulating film than Inception, and indeed most movies I've seen).

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That being said, Inception is probably still in my top 5 for the year (mostly because of the scenes in the hotel). Yeah, this year was a real stinker.

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The Social Network is really the only film I've any interest in seeing this year.

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Bugger, I see you watched The Graduate. What were your opinions about it? I found it to be very dated and hard to relate to because society changed so much since it was released. I can see how great it once was, but in my experience it didn't age well.

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I think it's got remarkable staying power because while not exceptional, it's a very solid film. It's a lot like Citizen Kane - so much of what it does is actually really striking (specifically the mise-en-scene composition, which was up there with Kane in terms of detail), it's just that since it set the bar it looks commonplace now. Kind of like how a lot of Carlin's impact on comedy isn't immediately noticeable, because he completely defined the art of stand-up as it is today. The Graduate is IMO a great teaching film because of this - you can show the duality represented in the contrast between the Bratton and Robinson homes, or the visual cues associated with Mrs. Robinson, and it's all rather plainly presented. It's even got a straightforward plot so you can concentrate on the film techniques without trying too hard to keep up with the story.
AFA the Simon and Garfunkel music: Eh, I got sick of hearing the same three songs repeated throughout the movie. Character or situational themes are fine when it's instrumental, but using popular music is too obvious and annoying IMO. That being said, The Sound of Silence was a great choice for the opening scene.

Altogether my favorites from the course, in order:
1. Usual Suspects
2. Psycho
3. Fargo

EDIT: @ Speechjew
The Graduate came out in 1967. What do you mean by "infancy"?
__________________
(Humans) are stubborn, self-destructive conformists. Any other view of our species is just self-congratulatory delusion. Next Question."
-- Michael Crichton, The Lost World

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Originally posted by Bugger:

EDIT: @ Speechjew
The Graduate came out in 1967. What do you mean by "infancy"?

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Infancy was the wrong word. More like, "awkward teen years." Like, trying to adapt to a teenage body after a growth spurt.

After the debacle that was "Cleopatra" (most expensive movie ever, adjusted for inflation, and flopped), Hollywood went through an ideological shift, culminating with "Bonnie and Clyde" and "The Graduate." Bonnie and Clyde was produced for $2.5 million and The Graduate was produced for $3 million, as compared to Cleopatra being produced for $44 million in 1963.

Filmmakers needed to reinvent cinema to be more cost-effective. Directors took risks with violence, sex, and heaven-forbid, a black man dating a white woman ("Guess Who's coming to dinner").

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Originally posted by speechjew:
Infancy was the wrong word. More like, "awkward teen years." Like, trying to adapt to a teenage body after a growth spurt.

After the debacle that was "Cleopatra" (most expensive movie ever, adjusted for inflation, and flopped), Hollywood went through an ideological shift, culminating with "Bonnie and Clyde" and "The Graduate." Bonnie and Clyde was produced for $2.5 million and The Graduate was produced for $3 million, as compared to Cleopatra being produced for $44 million in 1963.

Filmmakers needed to reinvent cinema to be more cost-effective. Directors took risks with violence, sex, and heaven-forbid, a black man dating a white woman ("Guess Who's coming to dinner").

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So you mean modern american film conventions (and the industry as it is today) was in its infancy, got it.

It didn't make any sense if you were talking about all of film - if I had to pick a period as filmmaking's 'infancy' I'd choose the 1910's. Editing was beginning to come into its own, especially in Russia.

__________________
(Humans) are stubborn, self-destructive conformists. Any other view of our species is just self-congratulatory delusion. Next Question."
-- Michael Crichton, The Lost World