Schoolio's Movie Corner

[ThatGirl]

I have not heard her. I am not willing to watch the Mamma Mia movie to find out.

Amanda Seyfried has a lovely singing voice - she was adorable in Mamma MIa.

[lehorne]

Thinking about 'Life of Pi' in 3D this weekend after seeing Ang Lee's 'Brokeback Mountain' again recently. What a classic that is, although I don't think the Ledger/Jack Twist final meeting was all that realistic (why would he crush his soul and be so cold like that?). And you notice how it's never played on broadcast cable? It's not anywhere. Ashame. "King of the road".

[KungFuJoe]

Life of Pi is a nice movie well worth seeing in the theater in 3D.

I'm watching Flying Swords of Dragon Gate on Netflix streaming right now and loving it. Wish I had caught this in 3D. Way more entertaining than Thai Chi Zero.

[TallGuyCM]

Rust and Bone was really good. It kind of lost me a bit toward the middle, but the final act was fantastic and it definitely redeemed itself. Excellent, excellent soundtrack as well, bookended by Bon Iver.

[alyssaf12]

I saw Django Unchained last night and it was incredible. Better then Inglorious Bastards, possibly his best.....and I have a hard time saying that because Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs are so incredible......definitely a must see.

[TallGuyCM]

Jealous of you guys seeing it early...Matt saw it the other night as well.

[alyssaf12]

Make it your christmas gift and go see it the second it comes out!!! Or find someone who is part of a union and tag along with them to an early screening

[TallGuyCM]

I like where your head's at. My birthday's actually the day after Christmas, so I'm making it my birthday gift!

[alyssaf12]

That's perfect! Definitely a good birthday gift!!!

[ThatGirl]

I saw Django Unchained last night and it was incredible. Better then Inglorious Bastards, possibly his best.....and I have a hard time saying that because Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs are so incredible......definitely a must see.

How did you manage to see an early screening?

[Mugwog]

How did you manage to see an early screening?

Los Angeles has mad screenings, SAG-AFTRA/DGA/PGA/WGA/ADG

LA Times/Variety has free screenings that start around September

One more reason we get to be pompous assholes

[cutterbutter]

Speaking of DGA screenings...

Avengers screening with Joss Whedon Q&A (and others to be confirmed). RSVP gets you a +1. People hold tickets in their cart but it'll let you get one if you refresh a bit (hopefully).
http://go-12-18-avengers-2.eventbrite.com

[atom heart]

My sister and I are going through the Criterion samurai films. It's been a lot of fun so far (except for when we tried watching the Samurai Trilogy), and we've seen films ranging from an atmoshpheric ghost story to classic, straight-up adventure. One thing is constant, though: being a peasant sucks. Life consists of eating millet and then it's death by starvation, or death by bandits, or death by raiding samurai.

[ThatGirl]

Los Angeles has mad screenings, SAG-AFTRA/DGA/PGA/WGA/ADG

LA Times/Variety has free screenings that start around September

One more reason we get to be pompous assholes

Can't say I'm not jealous.

[ameeps]

Where can I go to find out about LA screenings so I don't miss them? Is there a blog or RSS feed that posts them?

[xanman86]

My sister and I are going through the Criterion samurai films. It's been a lot of fun so far (except for when we tried watching the Samurai Trilogy), and we've seen films ranging from an atmoshpheric ghost story to classic, straight-up adventure. One thing is constant, though: being a peasant sucks. Life consists of eating millet and then it's death by starvation, or death by bandits, or death by raiding samurai.

[TallGuyCM]

Tonight I watched and enjoyed Shane Carruth's Primer quite a bit, although I feel it was a bit too convoluted for its own good.

[wmgaretjax]

no.

[TallGuyCM]

no.

Thing is, back in 2004 I understand something being made that required multiple viewings to fully grasp or whatever. There are several different films that come to mind in that regard. But, like it or not, things have changed a lot since then. Between music, television, and film, these days we are so constantly bombarded from all angles (with higher quality content than before imho) that it's a lot harder for the consumer to find time to revisit things. Primer may very well be something that requires that. I just don't know that I cared about it enough to make the time for it in the near future.

[RotationSlimWang]

Are you sure you're not just dumb? 'Cause I'm almost positive that's going to give you a problem comprehending things.

[mountmccabe]

Thing is, back in 2004 I understand something being made that required multiple viewings to fully grasp or whatever. There are several different films that come to mind in that regard. But, like it or not, things have changed a lot since then. Between music, television, and film, these days we are so constantly bombarded from all angles (with higher quality content than before imho) that it's a lot harder for the consumer to find time to revisit things.

I don't see that 8-year period as any different from any other recent 8-year period. Hell, I might have said something along those lines in 2004 about something that came out in 1996 when I was younger and knew less about what was up, what was around, what was available and how to get at it. Folks have been saying that forever; it's about them personally, not about the external world.

Also while I would agree that there is more content available now and that the average is likely better than before I would also say there is still a lot of shit that isn't worth considering and there's probably just as much great stuff as ever.

Primer may very well be something that requires that. I just don't know that I cared about it enough to make the time for it in the near future.

This is something else entirely. There being a lot of great stuff out there means we can focus on what we want and if you didn't like it enough to think about it more and give it another close viewing that's reasonable. But the reason you're not doing that is that you don't like it enough and not that this is a new era and film should be made differently.

[xanman86]

Thing is, back in 2004 I understand something being made that required multiple viewings to fully grasp or whatever. There are several different films that come to mind in that regard. But, like it or not, things have changed a lot since then. Between music, television, and film, these days we are so constantly bombarded from all angles (with higher quality content than before imho) that it's a lot harder for the consumer to find time to revisit things. Primer may very well be something that requires that. I just don't know that I cared about it enough to make the time for it in the near future.

I love it when an artist gives presents to an audience a work that keeps giving to a fan the more they revisit the subject. I don't think it works for everything and it is always better to have an easy to digest surface layer for the masses but it ultimately comes down to the viewers choice to keep diving into it or not.

A film like the Notebook keeps getting rewatches from people but surely no one learns anything new from it each time, they just enjoy it enough to keep going back.

[Mugwog]

Where can I go to find out about LA screenings so I don't miss them? Is there a blog or RSS feed that posts them?

It's a little late now, you can just keep your eyes open for studio screenings of films, basically until the Oscars there will screenings all over LA. Check the Variety website and LA Times website. Also, go by major studio websites ie Paramount/Sony - search for the phrase "For your consideration"

[Grandma]

It's been a lot of fun so far (except for when we tried watching the Samurai Trilogy)

[schoolofruckus]

Where can I go to find out about LA screenings so I don't miss them? Is there a blog or RSS feed that posts them?

This site aggregates all public screenings (i.e., not guild or other exclusive groups):
www.moviesinla.org

[atom heart]

The three 50's films about Mushashi Miyamoto, the legendary swordsman? They're rather generically called the Samurai Trilogy. Do you know it? Because gooooood lord I could not watch it. They're all based off a novel and the films seem to take scenes from it and present them with no connective tissue, edited together in a disorienting mash. The second film even has explanations of what's going on mixed into the subtitles. On top of that Mushashi is a crazy douchebag who's too good at kiling people. He basically kills people at random for getting in his way, without even using a steel blade. He fucking bludgeons people to death. Once I figured out the what the overall story was (crazy fucked up man learns to NOT KILL PEOPLE, becomes Zen master) I gave up watching it.

[atom heart]

Samurai II was kind of worth watching for this shot though:

[schoolofruckus]

Thing is, back in 2004 I understand something being made that required multiple viewings to fully grasp or whatever. There are several different films that come to mind in that regard. But, like it or not, things have changed a lot since then. Between music, television, and film, these days we are so constantly bombarded from all angles (with higher quality content than before imho) that it's a lot harder for the consumer to find time to revisit things. Primer may very well be something that requires that. I just don't know that I cared about it enough to make the time for it in the near future.

Yeah, this is not some kind of modern phenomenon. I can't think of many great films of any era that don't demand multiple viewings, whether it's Sunrise or Primer or The Master. I thought Primer was amazing both times I've seen it and I would happily watch it anytime I got the chance.

[wmgaretjax]

i've probably watched Primer 6 or 7 times... and not because it is some impenetrable mystery (i think two viewings are probably all you need to put the pieces together), but because it is just really damn fun and unlike anything else out there in terms of its dynamics and pacing. can't wait for his new one.

[zircona1]

Yesterday I watched Killing Them Softly. It was OK, there are a handful of great scenes, but a few of the talky dialogue sequences got me bored. Also, I had a hard time keeping track of who was who. I loved the opening credits sequence. Maybe I need to watch it again.