Schoolio's Movie Corner

[schoolofruckus]

It's actually not that many. There are two 70mm prints at Arclight Hollywood (one of which is the Dome), and one or two at The Landmark. There are only 16 total 70mm prints of The Master, so the rest are in New York or traveling around to other areas. At least seven more cities get it in 70 tomorrow and I'm sure they're trying to add other cities if they can find the right rooms.

Obviously, 70mm is the only acceptable format if you have that option. So do NOT wait to see it (or see it again) in the format.

[Mugwog]

Oh wow, bummer for everyone else not in NYC or LA. LA people connected in the industry through unions: There are screenings of it right now in 70mm. So you don't even have to pay to see it.

[TallGuyCM]

I'm just so happy the 70mm thing ended up happening at all, so fucking rad.

[Mugwog]

Yes, hopefully you got to see Samsara in 70mm before it was moved over by The Master. Really refreshing to see two really great films two weeks in a row after seeing all the crap that was released this year. Last thing I saw was Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. That movie proves if you can just do bullet time for 40% of a movie, you can get a studio to buy/sponsor it.

[schoolofruckus]

Oh wow, bummer for everyone else not in NYC or LA. LA people connected in the industry through unions: There are screenings of it right now in 70mm. So you don't even have to pay to see it.

Well, but only a bummer for one more day. Oakland, Seattle, Austin, Boston, DC and Toronto get it tomorrow, and I know Chicago is trying to bring it back to the Music Box later in the winter.

[TallGuyCM]

Yes, hopefully you got to see Samsara in 70mm before it was moved over by The Master.

I saw the screening they had at USC. Are you sure it was in 70mm? I thought it was just regular 35mm in the Dome.

[schoolofruckus]

I'm pretty certain Samsara was shot in 65mm (same as The Master) but only distributed digitally.

[TallGuyCM]

Ah, ok. Thanks.

[tyles]

Speaking of 70mm, looks like the Egyptian Theatre will be screening Ghostbusters in the format on October 26th and 27th.

[lehorne]

Think I'll be doing Regency South Coast Village 3 a few times next month. The Master, Casablanca (if I can find the right date), The Shining.

[cutterbutter]

The Perks of Being A Wallflower is a rare example of an author maintaining complete control over the adaptation of his work and bringing a story written 15 years ago into a new medium. The only compromise made, which he spoke about during the q&a, was to reach a PG-13 rating so that all of the book's fan base would be able to view it but I dont see it causing the film any fault. As a huge fan and supporter of the book for many years I was not only moved to see this story come to life in a new-yet-still effective way but to hear this first time filmmaker be so positively changed by his experience making it apposed to the horror stories you usually hear in these situations. Perhaps a bit "young" for some of this forum's crowd but I couldn't recommend going to see it more.

Showing at the Arclight HW and Landmark for now. The 7:30pm screening tomorrow at the Landmark also has a Q&A following.

[ThatGirl]

Heathers starts on Movie Central in half an hour. God yes.

[TomServo]

Saw the Master in 70MM at Landmark - they went off with the cigarette burns in that film! Some parts felt like it they were dragging their feet, but overall there are two main themes in this movie to really explore: Bromance and Filipinos: Are they really that scary when 3-5 are chasing after you?

Hats off to the set design and art department for the time period, I know PTA loves his accuracy of time periods, the department store model makes one question when that job was dropped for manequins.... I'll definitely want to watch this again, Joaquin Phoenix is the man, so chaotic, lonely and dim all at the same time. I really felt when he was near what he desired, the beast within settled down, only to find another reason to lash out at the world. His character and the rest of the cast really reflect PTA's skill as a director. Amy Adams' performance is one that many may overlook, but I felt every time she had a moment on screen she gave a portion to the rest of the cast, but when she had her moment, she fucking made it known. The bathroom HJ with PSH. That's a fucking wife.

I know I'm not the only one who enjoys having a director like this apart of our generation. Definitely a film maker who gives his audience some material to digest.

Just watched The Master tonight. Without too many spoilers - I agree with Roger Ebert's 2.5 star review. I'm not sure the film was effective for what it was trying to be... because I don't know what it was trying to be. There are so many competing themes - and some of them are PTA standards (SEX! People are crazy when it comes to jizz!) that I'm not sure the end result was anything greater than an interesting night at the movies.

The performances were all fantastic - more on that in a second. The sets and costumes and stuff were great. It looked terrific. I wasn't enamored with the Jonny Greenwood score - at times it was incredibly spare while other times it felt like the sounds were just banging me for no reason.

Getting back to the performances... Joaquin is insane. He obviously sold out completely in this role, and I don't understand his decision to go all McFly with his character's posture, but there's a point where crafting a character so completely overwhelms what story the character is trying to tell. I wasn't sure how much of his character's motivation was personal loathing, mental incompetence, alcoholism, etc... and his anarchist lean just made me kind of wary of caring about the character too much. It was tough, and he didn't have a big wind-up like the similar Daniel Day Lewis weirdo in "There Will Be Blood" - no big "I drink your milkshake!" to act as the tentpole for his weirdness. So it was great to watch the acting job Phoenix did... but I'm still not sure what and why and huh?

Before you attack me for being a hater, I'm a huge PTA fan. I was totally stoked for this movie, I'm just not certain it's effective as anything past being a night at the pictures. I can't imagine going back to it like I have Magnolia or Boogie Nights, movies that are a little more traditional in a storytelling sense (all raining frogs aside). I recommend the film, but it's as an interesting experience more than a great film. I wonder what the Oscar folks will do with it.

*Edit and spoilers* My wife is convincing me that the movie completely works, so I might have to retract my above statements to some degree. Her argument is that all the side issues (insanity, drinking, sex) are just tied into the animal nature of PSH's Master character. He's drawn to JP's character because he wants to conquer his own animal urges, and in the end he simply accepts that he can't - instead of hating his animal side, he embraces it and separates himself from it. In retrospect it's pretty blatant, and maybe I got too caught up in the performances and the cinematography to see it... which kind of proves my point that the great acting overwhelms the story for me.

So maybe it is a great film and I was just being obtuse. This is why it sucks to be a movie critic - it's watch one, then on to the next one... no time to reflect and internalize and figure out what the movie was really trying to say to you if it's not inherently obvious. Ebert might reflect later and find that he missed the point... like the entire group of folks I saw "The Big Lebowski" with in the theater. Like 6 confused people who thought it was terrible. (Not me)

[TallGuyCM]

Her argument is that all the side issues (insanity, drinking, sex) are just tied into the animal nature of PSH's Master character. He's drawn to JP's character because he wants to conquer his own animal urges, and in the end he simply accepts that he can't - instead of hating his animal side, he embraces it and separates himself from it.

I dunno...what I took away from the film was a general feeling of being very impressed by how PTA captured the needs and requirements that made the PSH-JP relationship work. In Lancaster, Freddy found someone who accepted him for who he is, who didn't give him too much of a hard time for being an idiot, for being compulsive, for his drinking. And in return, Freddy provided for Lancaster a friend who went along with him and didn't ask questions, and certainly didn't throw out big accusations that so many others did in the film. At the end of the day, when you think about it, the really interesting thing here is that Freddy didn't give two flying fucks about the religion/ideology of it all, he couldn't have cared less. He found acceptance, and that was enough for him, and because of this he was willing to defend Dodd and stand up for him unconditionally, as we saw several times throughout the film.

The animal urges aspect could have blatantly been there, but that's not what I got out of it after an initial viewing.

[schoolofruckus]

Just watched The Master tonight. Without too many spoilers - I agree with Roger Ebert's 2.5 star review. I'm not sure the film was effective for what it was trying to be... because I don't know what it was trying to be. There are so many competing themes - and some of them are PTA standards (SEX! People are crazy when it comes to jizz!) that I'm not sure the end result was anything greater than an interesting night at the movies.

The performances were all fantastic - more on that in a second. The sets and costumes and stuff were great. It looked terrific. I wasn't enamored with the Jonny Greenwood score - at times it was incredibly spare while other times it felt like the sounds were just banging me for no reason.

Getting back to the performances... Joaquin is insane. He obviously sold out completely in this role, and I don't understand his decision to go all McFly with his character's posture, but there's a point where crafting a character so completely overwhelms what story the character is trying to tell. I wasn't sure how much of his character's motivation was personal loathing, mental incompetence, alcoholism, etc... and his anarchist lean just made me kind of wary of caring about the character too much. It was tough, and he didn't have a big wind-up like the similar Daniel Day Lewis weirdo in "There Will Be Blood" - no big "I drink your milkshake!" to act as the tentpole for his weirdness. So it was great to watch the acting job Phoenix did... but I'm still not sure what and why and huh?

Before you attack me for being a hater, I'm a huge PTA fan. I was totally stoked for this movie, I'm just not certain it's effective as anything past being a night at the pictures. I can't imagine going back to it like I have Magnolia or Boogie Nights, movies that are a little more traditional in a storytelling sense (all raining frogs aside). I recommend the film, but it's as an interesting experience more than a great film. I wonder what the Oscar folks will do with it.

*Edit and spoilers* My wife is convincing me that the movie completely works, so I might have to retract my above statements to some degree. Her argument is that all the side issues (insanity, drinking, sex) are just tied into the animal nature of PSH's Master character. He's drawn to JP's character because he wants to conquer his own animal urges, and in the end he simply accepts that he can't - instead of hating his animal side, he embraces it and separates himself from it. In retrospect it's pretty blatant, and maybe I got too caught up in the performances and the cinematography to see it... which kind of proves my point that the great acting overwhelms the story for me.

So maybe it is a great film and I was just being obtuse. This is why it sucks to be a movie critic - it's watch one, then on to the next one... no time to reflect and internalize and figure out what the movie was really trying to say to you if it's not inherently obvious. Ebert might reflect later and find that he missed the point... like the entire group of folks I saw "The Big Lebowski" with in the theater. Like 6 confused people who thought it was terrible. (Not me)

Listen to your wife. Mine also got a bit more out of it on first viewing than I did.

I'm going to keep repeating it - it's okay to not love this immediately. Just don't give up on it, especially if you generally like PTA.

[cutterbutter]

Criterion-

For only twenty-four hours, until noon tomorrow, all in-stock Blu-rays and DVDs will be 50% off the suggested retail price (SRP). Just enter the promotional code FLASH on your shopping cart page at Criterion.com to apply the discount.

[cansei de ser sexme]

OOooooh I like that. Any suggestions? I've got Paris, Texas, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Schizopolis, and Cronos in my cart based off of searching the website for a little.

[Mugwog]

Ahhh too many to choose from!

La Strada is a favorite I was shown back in college, a tale of a woman sold to a traveling side show brute. 120 Days of Sodom looks very interesting (Marquee de Sade stuff), the trailer for it, although corny and old, had some of the more provocative scenes I've seen in a while.

Of course if you haven't seen Being John Malkovich, Dazed and Confused or Fear and Loathing (Sold out in Blu-ray ) I would recommend those also for more contemporary films.

House perked my interest too, the cheesy horror effects kinda got me. Plus how its described as a "psychedelic ghost tale"

[ThomThom]

Oh God this is not good, my wallet can't take much more.

[bmack86]

Salo is horrid. I bought it because I was really interested in seeing it, and it's just depraved and pitiless. I don't know that I'd recommend watching it.

[Mugwog]

Is it just a montage of evil?

[cutterbutter]

OOooooh I like that. Any suggestions? I've got Paris, Texas, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Schizopolis, and Cronos in my cart based off of searching the website for a little.

Three Colors Trilogy for $40~ is a steal. I got Harold & Maude and Quadrophenia that both recently came out this year as well. Cronos is pretty sweet! Have not seen that in a while.



Salo/120 Days is definitely in the category of movies to never watch again for me, let alone own.

[ThomThom]

Thinking about picking up Repulsion, Contempt, Breathless, all the Wes Anderson shit, and the Thin Red Line.

[bmack86]

OOooooh I like that. Any suggestions? I've got Paris, Texas, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Schizopolis, and Cronos in my cart based off of searching the website for a little.

Solaris and Andrei Rublev are both incredible, and M is one of the most fascinating and intense stories about a serial killer ever. It will blow your mind that it was one of the early talking films. Others that I have that I really love are Unfaithfully Yours (a darkly hilarious movie about a man who suspects his wife is cheating on him by Preston Sturges, one of the great comedy directors of all time) The Third Man (Orson Welles acting crazed in Vienna, written by Graeme Greene, directed by Carol Reed and much funnier than it should be due to the ridiculous and captivating score) and The Rules of the Game (Renoir's classic tale of aristocratic absurdity that is frequently mentioned as one of the best movies ever made. "Would you like my rabbit?")

They need to reissue Alphaville. Probably my favorite Godard, a huge shame it's out of print.

[ThomThom]

Fuck me, The Friends of Eddie Coyle and House of Games... Ugh.

[bmack86]

Is it just a montage of evil?

Yeah, pretty much. There are three stages: the rape stage, the stage where they engage in consumption of bodily fluids and the torture/mutilation/death stage. That's the whole movie, with stories and lots of twisted shit to flesh it out.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

House perked my interest too, the cheesy horror effects kinda got me. Plus how its described as a "psychedelic ghost tale"

Assuming this is the Japanese one, YES. it's amazing. the Criterion disc has some great special features too. The director is a wacko and the history behind the movie is pretty fascinating.

[cansei de ser sexme]

Which Godard should I get? I loved Contempt and Breathless.

[SoulDischarge]

House Of Games is one of the most awkward things I've ever seen.

Absolutely essential Criterions (aside from what's already been mentioned): 8 1/2, Grey Gardens, Videodrome, Seven Samurai, Do The Right Thing, Brazil, Withnail & I, Carnival Of Souls, The Exterminating Angel, The Ruling Class, George Washington, Down By Law, Man Bites Dog, By Brakhage, Naked Lunch, 3 Women, Branded To Kill, Naked, Chungking Express, Science Is Fiction, Last Year At Marienbad. I also second Paris, Texas, Schizopolis, Fear & Loathing, John Malkovich, House, Repulsion, The Third Man, M, and the Rules Of The Game.

[xanman86]

Which Godard should I get? I loved Contempt and Breathless.

Band of Outsiders