Schoolio's Movie Corner

[schoolofruckus]

Partially due to the fact that it was shot in 65mm - fuck, it could end up being the last such film ever the way things are going.

Apparently The Weinstein Company had a presentation in Cannes today to demo sizzle reels from its big three fall films - The Master, David O. Russell's The Silver Linings Playbook, and Tarantino's Django Unchained - and judging from the breathless write-ups, they all sound absolutely spectacular. Almost makes me want to take a four month nap so I don't have to wait.

I saw the last two films of the Aero's Bresson retrospective last night - Lancelot Du Lac and The Trial of Joan of Arc. They were both fucking fantastic, united in their focus on key historical figures but wildly different in every other way. Lancelot was probably the more fascinating of the two, namely because - in a stroke I haven't identified in any other Bresson hero - the eponymous knight was aware from the start that salvation would be beyond his grasp. Joan of Arc was almost entirely talking heads, and yet it was still spellbinding. Having seen 8 of Bresson's films, he's now become one of my most favorite film artists. It won't be easy, but I'm going to need to track down these other five films, like, now.

[kreutz2112]

Awesome!

I saw The Secret World of Arriety last night, which was so excellently done. The detail in the illustration and the color pallet is really aesthetically breathtaking, and it's just nice to see a children's movie that opts for well crafted story telling and a slow, deliberate pace rather than relying on a lot of cheesy gimmicks to make kids laugh. (There were actually a lot of families in the movie theater and the kids there seemed to love it!) Also, Amy Poehler and Carol Burnett's voice over work is fantastic.

^ Well said.

I also watched Arrietty last night and really enjoyed it. A must see for fans of Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki.

I watched this tonight and I also loved it. As per usual, the animation was amazing and the story heartfelt. I was pretty bored with Ponyo (the last one that Miyazaki directed) and I blamed it on the fact that it was a "kids film", but so was Arriety so it must have been something else about Ponyo I didn't like. I've yet to see Tales From the Earthsea or From up on Poppy Hill, but judging from the reviews they sound like they are a little more sofisticated, which is what I love from Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki.

[Down Rodeo]

Thanks for sharing that, Gabe. There was a Bresson retrospective up here a few weeks ago, and of course I dropped the fucking ball and missed the entire thing. The films I almost got my lazy ass to go see were Les Dames Du Bois De Boulogne and Lancelot Du Lac. Probably something I'll be bitter about the rest of my life.

[Poor Yorick]

Exactly. I love The Fall, but next to Baraka it might as well have been shot by Kevin Smith.

^100% sig-worthy.
This thread is responsible for bringing Baraka into my life. This thread is holy. There is no language equipped with the forms of expression capable of communicating my infinite gratitude. May you all Monkey Dance into eternity beyond this life.

[TallGuyCM]

This thread is responsible for bringing Baraka into my life. This thread is holy. There is no language equipped with the forms of expression capable of communicating my infinite gratitude. May you all Monkey Dance into eternity beyond this life.

Real talk. My sentiments exactly.

[cutterbutter]

One of the film professors at the community college I went to has a screening of it once a semester, for free in the big auditorium/theater. Most of the other profs offer extra credit for a write up/proof of attendance (you know, that kind of thing). So there are always a lot of people that would never see it but are seeking out a few points in their intro to film class that ended up being a real amount of work. On both occasions I went, cus hey you dont pass up any opportunity for that on a big screen, there were multiple people crying in the audience. Being total open (or even coaxed) to something but still extremely uninformed is always an extremely unique mindset to go into things with.

Can't wait to see Samsara in the theater this summer.

[schoolofruckus]

The other day I was part of the first audience to see Killing Them Softly. I'll just say to all you Andrew Dominik fans, heed the warning that was sent to us when they change the films title. It was far from the worst film I've ever seen, but I'd be shocked if it takes home any awards at this years Cannes film festival. It can be greatly improved between now and it's release date, but I doubt so much as to make it an excellent film. It's main problem is it's incredibly heavy handed with its political message, the music used in the film is very cliched & there are too many scenes in which the characters are just rambling on.

The Cannes reviews I've been skimming from this morning have been wildly enthusiastic, largely because of the film's political viewpoint and anti-action film aesthetic. I need to figure out a way to see this today.

[schoolofruckus]

Also, if my Twitter feed was the Cannes jury, Leos Carax's Holy Motors would be running away with the Palme. Anyone have a suggestion on where to start with his work?

[schoolofruckus]

I don't even think this trailer will be a 50-50 proposition. I'm fairly sure 80% of people will hate it - and will probably also hate the film itself. And they will all be wrong. This is going to be mind-blowing; Baz has absolutely nailed the decadence of Fitzgerald's Roaring Twenties, and if he can take enough of a subversive angle to it (which, granted, is no sure thing), this has a chance to be an all-time great reinvention of a classic book. Between this and Django Unchained, I'm genuinely not sure which film I will see first on Christmas.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

Looks great! i am a complete 100% unabashed Baz Luhrmann fan though.

[Miroir Noir]

I have never been a big Luhrmann fan and I think it looks great. I think that's partly because I adore Carey Mulligan, though.

[Poor Yorick]

Can't wait to see Samsara in the theater this summer.

That's when I realized I watched (observed? consumed? absorbed?) Baraka the day the trailer for Samsara was released... Praises be to the Coachella gods for aligning my stars.

Also, Gatsby looks much more refreshing than I expected.

[Down Rodeo]

I'm also not much of a Baz Luhrmann fan, but I'll withhold judgment on this one until I see it. Given the current economic climate, I could certainly see this one resonating in some interesting ways.

But nevermind that shit... I just watched Assault On Precinct 13 (the original) and think I may have just seen John Carpenter's best film. I know what you're thinking, and as an unabashed lover of The Thing I'm right there with you, but I think the two are actually very close.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

I would be hard-pressed to call that Carpenter's best, but Assault On Precinct 13 is pretty perfect horror film. He was pretty young and the genre, as it was at that time, was pretty young, and he just hit everything just right. The tension is nuts and you really do end up loving the characters.

I have a hard time stacking that up against The Thing, Escape From New York, Christine, Halloween, Big Trouble In Little China, or They Live, but as a pure genre film it's pretty pitch perfect.

[schoolofruckus]

Love Precinct 13.

[RageAgainstTheAoki]

Yeah, um, that trailer looks lovely; is there any doubt that Luhrmann and his team know how to make pretty things? But a healthy dose of skepticism about the man behind Romeo+Juliet, Moulin Rouge and the dreadful Australia seems pretty reasonable.

I meant to post this a couple of weeks back now. I caught Terence Davies' newest film The Deep Blue Sea -- I think it's out of theatres now. Beautiful, nuanced, deeply sensitive, lovingly shot, unforced. Everything you would expect from a Terence Davies film. I wish he were a bit more prolific; no one quite makes films the way he does. Rachel Weisz is mesmerizing in this one, too.

[cutterbutter]

Great Gatsby looks a little too colorful. My own imagination has it rendered in such a way in my head that I'd probably be upset with any adaptation but its just a little much.

[Mr. Dylanja]

[SoulDischarge]

Precint 13 is great, but the score is even better.

[PotVsKtl]

Wrong. Precinct 13 is terrible.

[amyzzz]

I would be hard-pressed to call that Carpenter's best, but Assault On Precinct 13 is pretty perfect horror film. He was pretty young and the genre, as it was at that time, was pretty young, and he just hit everything just right. The tension is nuts and you really do end up loving the characters.

I have a hard time stacking that up against The Thing, Escape From New York, Christine, Halloween, Big Trouble In Little China, or They Live, but as a pure genre film it's pretty pitch perfect.

Love Precinct 13.

Wrong. Precinct 13 is terrible.

I haven't seen it and I trust all your opinions on horror films. I guess I will have to watch it and judge for myself.

[cutterbutter]

Precint 13 is great, but the score is even better.

This is the correct opinion.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

I love all of Carpenter's early scores

[SoulDischarge]

Wrong. Precinct 13 is terrible.

Fuck that noise. It's an incredibly tense and brutal piece of genre work.

[KungFuJoe]

[JustSteve]

$6 movie tickets from Fandango available through this AmazonLocal deal:

http://local.amazon.com/north-orange...75500_24134710

[AlecEiffel]

Sean Durkin is doing a ten episode television adaptation of The Exorcist. Could be very interesting, though they haven't announced/don't know where it will air.

[RotationSlimWang]

Assault on Precinct 13 in no way qualifies as a horror film. It is also rather shitty in retrospect, but I'd imagine at the time it came out it was cool. Saying that it's even in the same league as masterworks like The Thing and Big Trouble In Little China is fucking crazy.

[HandBanana]

I loved Precinct 13 as a kid, but aside from that opening sequence, its fangs no longer have all that much bite, whereas The Thing and Big Trouble still play perfectly.
It's still a tightly made film and there's much about it that works, but it's impact has faded quite a bit since its release.

[euphonicfiend]

Hey if anyone is interested or is a fan of Miyazaki & Studio Ghibli films they are screening them at Cinefamily in L.A. Ill be checking out Nausicca of Valley of The Wind & Princess Mononoke on June 1st. There are a bunch of others playing as well. Here is the link if anyone would like to check it out : http://www.cinefamily.org/films/studio-ghibli/

Sorry I posted this late, the screening ends June 1st. I just found this thread.