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Post by driftin on Jan 14, 2019 7:52:18 GMT
The Coens really hit the ground running when they debuted this. You can also tell they were friends with Sam Raimi because the influence of The Evil Dead can be seen in its energetic camera work. All of the negative criticisms which are usually aimed at the Coens can easily be applied here as it's a film that has little sympathy for any of its (mostly) unlikeable subjects, who are archetypes rather than characters, but when the plot is so tightly wound and the set pieces are this tense and well-directed it's not exactly a major complaint.
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Post by Inspector Norse on Jan 14, 2019 14:13:43 GMT
Ostensibly the tale of a poor family - reliant on shoplifting, hence the title - who take in a young runaway, this develops into something much more, a compelling look at families, relationships and "the system". Unjudgmental in its treatment of complex and confused morals and full of questions about how we decide what is right and wrong, it's uplifting in parts but also emotionally devastating, one of those rare films that really earns its brief flashes of sentimentality, such as the heartbreaking final scenes. The characters, despite their strange situation, feel powerfully real, so much so that even a couple of hours after leaving the cinema I found myself hoping things had worked out for them. Something of a masterpiece; highly recommended.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2019 17:39:01 GMT
Watched with my son last night.
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Post by nitrousmcbread on Jan 16, 2019 21:05:40 GMT
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Post by clive gash on Jan 17, 2019 12:10:59 GMT
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Jan 17, 2019 13:51:17 GMT
Ostensibly the tale of a poor family - reliant on shoplifting, hence the title - who take in a young runaway, this develops into something much more, a compelling look at families, relationships and "the system". Unjudgmental in its treatment of complex and confused morals and full of questions about how we decide what is right and wrong, it's uplifting in parts but also emotionally devastating, one of those rare films that really earns its brief flashes of sentimentality, such as the heartbreaking final scenes. The characters, despite their strange situation, feel powerfully real, so much so that even a couple of hours after leaving the cinema I found myself hoping things had worked out for them. Something of a masterpiece; highly recommended.
Yes, great. I liked it very much.
I watched Performance last night on the big screen for the first time last night. So good.
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Post by driftin on Jan 19, 2019 20:10:13 GMT
This is not what I was expecting. It's a remake of the Coens' Blood Simple but this time with a period Chinese setting and it's directed by Zhang Yimou ( Hero, Raise the Red Lantern). I was expecting the same basic plot, dazzling costumes, huge sets, and balletic movement but I was not expecting absolutely woeful slapstick comedy. When this is a thriller it's actually pretty decent but when it's trying to be funny it's painful. There's a fat, bumbling bloke with buck teeth, a cross-eyed policeman with a lisp and various other buffoons acting as if they were in a pantomime and it's embarrassing. If it was a straight up wuxia or period drama like Yimou's other films (which are excellent) it might've worked.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2019 19:22:57 GMT
Couldn't sleep last night and this was just starting on TCM so I watched the whole thing.
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loveless
god
Bringing ballet to the masses. Sticking to the funk.
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Post by loveless on Jan 22, 2019 4:28:28 GMT
I took my oldest with me to see THIS tonight. I loved it, he loved it. I couldn't imagine recommending it to anyone who isn't a pretty massive Wings fan, cause...even as someone who loves this stuff (and this era where they haven't totally "gone pro" yet), I felt like the hour length was sufficient, and...Paul's pretty fucking corny at the end of the day. BUT - there's some really good music in there (the theater had it CRANKED the fuck up!), and it's probably the only real document of that lineup in concert.
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toomanyhatz
god
I've met him/her. He/she's great!!
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Post by toomanyhatz on Jan 22, 2019 6:26:06 GMT
I may have mentioned this elsewhere, but we're on a Flintstones kick right now. It got pretty silly by the end, but the first couple seasons are mostly great. And the music! Not just the incidental music, which is wonderful but the guests - Hoagy Carmichael, the Beau Brummels, James Darren, Ann Margaret, just for starters.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 16:48:16 GMT
Last night the Warriors game was a blowout so I watched two movies on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) as they were featuring Denzell Washington for MLK Day.
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Post by driftin on Jan 22, 2019 21:11:17 GMT
This is basically American Beauty but less flashy, more human, and made 2 years before. It's also better.
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Post by Crunchy Col on Jan 22, 2019 21:14:24 GMT
Oh yeah, I loved that one. Fabulous performances all round.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 22:05:30 GMT
I got around to watching X-men: Days of Future Past, which is a worthwhile addition to the series. One scene was outstanding - a character called Quicksilver unsurprisingly can move extremely quickly. Some people were being fired at in a large room and the time it took for the guns in the room to release their bullets and get to the destination was stretched into Quicksilver time which was about 2 minutes, during which time he rearranged the scene. I loved it. Made me wish there were a film around him but I guess it would be too expensive to have it full of such scenes.
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Post by driftin on Jan 23, 2019 14:43:42 GMT
Ain't this just fabulous? Unashamedly quaint, sincere, and gleeful. Also as a piece of cinema it has great audio-visual storytelling and jokes, its script is actually tightly woven with setups and payoffs for every well-realised character. This is what a family film ought to be.
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