[rehabitat]

^ Great movie

 

[Xfinity]

Quote:

"The Big Blue"  - 9.9/10
 
Astounding.  A study in conciousness through the sport of free deep sea diving.  Jean Reno.  Rosanne Arquette with her clothes off.  What's not to love?

+1, liked that movie a lot!

 

[apatN]

Quote:

Animal Kingdom - 9.5/10
 
What an amazing and quite unassuming film.  I was totally sucked in to the brilliant characterisations of a family of working class criminals.  The film is very suspenseful, but in a subtle way.  You don't really notice what it's doing to you until the very end.
 
Animal Kingdom was the directors first feature film.  I hope that it's critical success (winner at Sundance this year) doesn't go to his head.
 
Highly recommended.

 
I just had to see this film after I saw this post. I was unable to find it at my local shop so I gave it a quick download. Let's just say I can understand why my local shop didn't carry it.
 
The film is overall too slow to mention. I mean, I like it when films don't rush their story but in this case I am even clueless what that story is. Does it tell the story of J? Perhaps of Pope? The weird grandmother? Nicole? Baz? Of course, you can say it was about the family, but even that wasn't worked out well. The whole film seems to be held together by sudden 'things'. 'Losse flodders' is what we call it in Dutch. I think it means blanks in English. It's the kind of ammo for your gun that doesn't fire a bullet but rather gives a loud bang and that's it.
 
Also, the characters were lifeless and hollow. Their actions were like losse flodders too.
 
Lastly, I think that this film could have been way shorter and that some scenes were totally redundant.

Spoiler

For instance the opening scene in which J tells what's going on. What's the use of that if you don't follow through with it at all? What's the use of a scene in which you see the family of Nicole crying? What's the use of a scene in which you can see a police man pointing a gun at J's face? The use of J making noodles? There are too many scenes in this film that carry absolutely no message at all and don't contribute to the story.[/spoiler,] (CNTRL+A to read)
 
Wow, reading this back I think I really thought this was bad.

I am usually pretty mild when it comes to critique. Anyway 4/10.
 

 

 

 

[cswann1]

"Winters Bone"  9.5/10
 
 
 
Wow.  What a great small budget gem.  A young girl, trying to raise her two younger siblings by herself (mom is mentally disabled and dad is....keep reading) in poor, rural Missouri gets a visit from the Sheriff who tells her if her dad doesn't make it to his court date her home and land will go to the bail bondsman.  She sets out to find her father and learns first-hand, asking questions can be dangerous.
 It's a very well directed, acted and shot story that never lost my interest.
 
You'll hear this title mentioned come Oscar time next year.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

"Winters Bone"  9.5/10
 
Wow.  What a great small budget gem.  A young girl, trying to raise her two younger siblings by herself (mom is mentally disabled and dad is....keep reading) in poor, rural Missouri gets a visit from the Sheriff who tells her if her dad doesn't make it to his court date her home and land will go to the bail bondsman.  She sets out to find her father and learns first-hand, asking questions can be dangerous.
 It's a very well directed, acted and shot story that never lost my interest.
 
You'll hear this title mentioned come Oscar time next year.

My pick for Movie of the Year so far.  Plus all the actors/actresses were basically no names.  They were fantastic.

 

[grokit]

 
Quote:

I just had to see this film after I saw this post. I was unable to find it at my local shop so I gave it a quick download. Let's just say I can understand why my local shop didn't carry it.
 
The film is overall too slow to mention. I mean, I like it when films don't rush their story but in this case I am even clueless what that story is. Does it tell the story of J? Perhaps of Pope? The weird grandmother? Nicole? Baz? Of course, you can say it was about the family, but even that wasn't worked out well. The whole film seems to be held together by sudden 'things'. 'Losse flodders' is what we call it in Dutch. I think it means blanks in English. It's the kind of ammo for your gun that doesn't fire a bullet but rather gives a loud bang and that's it.
 
Also, the characters were lifeless and hollow. Their actions were like losse flodders too.
 
Lastly, I think that this film could have been way shorter and that some scenes were totally redundant.

Spoiler

For instance the opening scene in which J tells what's going on. What's the use of that if you don't follow through with it at all? What's the use of a scene in which you see the family of Nicole crying? What's the use of a scene in which you can see a police man pointing a gun at J's face? The use of J making noodles? There are too many scenes in this film that carry absolutely no message at all and don't contribute to the story.[/spoiler,] (CNTRL+A to read)
 
Wow, reading this back I think I really thought this was bad.

I am usually pretty mild when it comes to critique. Anyway 4/10.
 

Spoiler

Lol, I thought the same thing after renting The Square from Netflix based on a critique here, maybe it's an Australian thing 

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

Lol, I thought the same thing after renting The Square from Netflix based on a critique here, maybe it's an Australian thing 

You didn't like the Square?  Its no Blood Simple but not far off.  I didn't find the pacing bad at all.  Loved the premonition/parallel with the dog.  Plus the Spider short was great.  Are you guys watching w/ subtitles on? 

 

[grokit]

I wasn't, maybe that's the problem lol 

 
I did like Blood Simple BTW, but I forgot to check out the Spider short; my bad.

 

[rehabitat]

It's called the 'cultural divide'.
 
I'm sure that there are plenty of prosaic moments in films and also in your everyday lives that you gather some meaning from, which would mean nothing to me.  You know?  Like bad jokes or ironic gestures and simple body language.  These actions may mean nothing to many people, but that's the way some people behave in this country, like in real life.  That's what makes watching a film like Animal Kingdom ring so true for some people; they just 'get it'.  I tried (failed I think) to put that in context in my reply to Anaxilus.
 
Obviously in this context it is easy for me to commend a film of this nature, but often great art can take significant effort to appreciate.  Repeated exposure to the unfamiliar and distasteful makes it easier to endure, and then one may have greater opportunities to appreciate the insights that lay within.
 
It would be kinder to consider these salient facts before dumping on something in a careless way.  For the most part, if I don't like or I know I can't appreciate something like a film, I prefer not to comment.  But this is a ratings thread, so I should just shut-up and let you dump away.
 
To each their own.

 

[apatN]

I see what you are trying to say. Well, I didn't like it and you did. Let's keep it at that.

 

[Anaxilus]

I've liked a lot of Aussie flicks.  The Square, Lantana, The Horseman, The Proposition, Rabbit Proof Fence, others.  The worst Australian movie ever was definitely 'Australia'.  -2/10.  Epic FAIL! 
 
Anyone else really looking forward to the Coen Brother's 'True Grit'?
 

 

[grokit]

I just checked that True Grit trailer out and it looks awesome. It has a lot to live up to concerning the original version, but I think is has all the ingredients in it to be potentially even better. I might even head to the theater for that one.
 
I also checked out the Animal Kingdom trailer and it looks quite good as well, so I will not write off the new wave of Aussie Cinema just yet

 and leave it in my queue.
 
Also to be fair to The Square I had it at home for a busy week and finally watched it when I was too tired so I could send it back. So that may be why I couldn't get into it.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I just checked that True Grit trailer out and it looks awesome. It has a lot to live up to concerning the original version, but I think is has all the ingredients in it to be potentially even better. I might even head to the theater for that one.
 
I also checked out the Animal Kingdom trailer and it looks quite good as well, so I will not write off the new wave of Aussie Cinema just yet

 and leave it in my queue.
 
Also to be fair to The Square I had it at home for a busy week and finally watched it when I was too tired so I could send it back. So that may be why I couldn't get into it.

 

I totally hear you.  Since I can't control the environment, I basically stopped recommending movies to friends to watch at home because of that and don't even watch vids w/ my best friend.  I'll get some Foreign language movie of the year to see and he starts surfing the web on his laptop and complains he doesn't like the movie because he can't multitask due to being subtitled.  FACEPALM!!  People hit pause and answer their phone, start writing checks for bills, etc.  I mean really??  It happens a lot since you aren't in a theater that tries to force your attention.
 

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

I just checked that True Grit trailer out and it looks awesome. It has a lot to live up to concerning the original version....

Do you mean the movie or Portis' novel?
 
Because the John Wayne movie isn't much like the novel.  Mattie is the central character and Portis' writing is a lot darker and funnier than comes across in the first film.
 
Portis is a much better fit for the Coen Brothers.  The only thing I wonder about is why they didn't pick "The Dog of the South" or "Norwood" for a Portis adaptation.  "Norwood" is like a script for a Coen Brothers movie from 1966.  Grady Fring the Kredit King, the world's smallest perfect fat man and a college-educated chicken come together in a book I've never gotten tired of re-reading.
 
Not to sidetrack the discussion; I will go see the new "True Grit" when it comes out.

 

[grokit]

I meant the JW movie version, thanks for the heads-up on the book though. Now I wonder if the Coen bros are remaking the first movie or doing an original adaptation of the novel.