I thought this ruled. It was the best big-budget Hollywood action flick I've seen since ... The Fugitive? Perhaps that long. It is no coincidence that both films used Chicago as their backdrop.
Having just returned, I have not yet had a lot of time to assess why this movie worked so well for me. However I remember after watching Spiderman thinking that it was two halves of a good movie, neither part (the origin and the fight against the baddie) felt fleshed out enough to stand on their own. I did not have this problem here. Nolan totally knows how to ratchet up the tension to the breaking point, this is the film I was waiting for after Memnto, not Insomnia.
Yes Bale was awesome. Also, I know this is a little un-PC, but did Katie Holmes have little attachments under shirt to make her so nipply in every scene? Do they spray canned air down there right before they yell "ACTION!" or something? I'm just askin.
12 Angry Men - 3.5
2001 - 4
About A Boy - 2.5
Adaptation - 2.5
Airplane! - 4
Alien - 3.5
Aliens - 4.0
Almost Famous - 1.5
Amelie - 2
American Beauty - 4
Annie Hall - 4
The Apartment - 3.5
Apocalypse Now - 3.5
The Aviator - 2.5
Before Sunrise - 3
Before Sunset - 4
The Birds - 3
Blade Runner - 2.5
Blade Runner: The Director's Cut - 4
Boogie Nights - 3.5
Bowling For Columbine - 1.5
Carrie - 3
Casablanca - 4
Catch Me If You Can - 2.5
Once Upon A Time In The WEst - 3.5
Citizen Kane - 3
A Clockwork Orange - .5
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind - 4
Only if we're talking about the original version, 2.5 for the "Special Edition"
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - 3.5
The Day The Earth Stood Stil - 4
Dead Man Walking - 3
Dead Zone - 2.5
Dog Day Afternoon - 3.5
Donnie Darko - 3
Do The Right Thing - 4
Double Indemnity - 4
Dr. Strangelove - 4
Ed Wood - 2.5
Election - 2.5
Escape From New York - 3
ET - 2
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind - 4
Eyes Wide Shut - 3.5
Fahrenheit 9/11 - 1
Fight Club - 2.5
A Fish Called Wanda - 3.5
The Fly - 3.5
Ghostbusters - 3
Godfather - 3.5
Godfather II - 4
Goodfellas - 4
The Good, The BAd, and The Ugly - 4
The Graduate - 3.5
The Grifters - 3
Groundhog Day - 3
Halloween - 4
Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone - 1.5
HItchhiker's Guide - 1.5
The In-Laws - 4
Irreversible - 4
I Shot Andy Warhol - 3
Jaws - 4
Jurassic Park - 1.5
Kill Bill: Vol 1 - 3
Kill Bill: Vol 2 - 3.5
King Of Comedy - 4
LA Confidential - 3.5
Liar Liar - 2.5
Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou - 3
Life Is Beautiful - 3
LOTR: Fellowship - 4
LOTR: Two Towers - 4
LOTR: RotK - 4
Lost In Translation - 3
Magnolia - 4
Manchurian Candidate - 4
Mnahattan - 4
Matrix - 3.5
Matrix Reloaded - 1.5
Matrix Revolutions - 1.5
Midnight Cowboy - 2
Million Dollar Baby - 3.5
Misery - 3
Nightmare On Elm Street - 4
Los Olvidados - 4
Once Upon A Time In America - 4
The Outsiders - 2
Paths Of Glory - 4
Peeping Tom - 3.5
Psycho - 4
Pulp Fiction - 4
Punch-Drunk Love - 3
Raging Bull - 4
Raiders Of The Lost Ark - 4
Rain Man - 2.5
Raising Arizona - 2.5
Rear Window - 4
Rebel Without A Cause - 2.5
Requiem For A Dream - 3.5
Reservoir Dogs - 4
Roger & ME - 3
Royal Tenenbaums - 2.5
Run Lola Run - 3
Rushmore - 4
Schindler's List - 2.5
School Of Rock - 3
Sexy Beast - 2
Shakespeare In Love - 1
Shawshank Redemption - 4
The Shining - 2.5
Sideways - 1
Silence Of The Lambs - 3
Sixth Sense - 3.5
Star Wars E1: 1.5
E2: 1.5
E4: 4
E5: 4
E6: 2
The Sting - 4
Take The Money And Run - 3
Talk TO Her - 2.5
Taxi Driver - 4
Terminator - 4
T2: 2.5
Thin Blue Line: 4
The Thing - 3
The Third Man - 3.5
Titanic - 4
Toy Story - 3.5
Truman Show - 2.5
Unfogiven - 4
Usual Suspects - 3
vertigo - 4
Waiting For Guffman - 3
Waking Life - 2
War Of The WOrlds - 3.5
When Harry Met Sally - 2
Wizard Of Oz - 2
Young Frankenstein - 3
Platoon - 3
On The WAterfront - 3
Nightmare Before Christmas - 2.5
Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom - 2
Hoop Dreams - 3
Barton Fink - 3
The 39 Steps - 3
Amadeus - 3.5
American Graffiti - 3
Bonnie And Clyde - 3.5
Chinatown - 3
The Conversation - 3.5
The Deer Hunter - 3.5
Heat - 3
I would say that Amusement Parks On Fire marks the dividing line between "Highly Recommended" and varying levels of "Not Bad" (and it toes that line itself.) Note that in many cases a lower rank doesn't mean "bad" it often just means "this is not my thing at all." The Kills is a classic example of that (although its title track is killer.) Coldplay marks the line between "Not bad" and "This is actively garbage"
I really love the first half of the Spoon record, but I feel it falls off a bit after that. Even the second half is not bad, its just not superlative. I can't compare to their past albums, since this is my first exposure to them.
Also as far as The National, its not bad, its just a) not my thing and b) I don't see what the hype is all about. Its definitely worth a bedroom crate attempt, as its not completely unworthy. Its just not particularly noteworthy. Also, I could see this being a creeper, but I don't knwo if I have the inclination to give it the time.
Amusement Parks On Fire is this very dense wall of guitars band from England that sound kind of like My Bloody Valentine with J Mascis singing. I first heard them when they played onair on KEXP but it doesn't seem to be in their archive yet. Keep checking at
To the best of my knowledge Cold Water is completely out of distribution, on video or film, in any real way. I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to see it, on the big screen no less. One showing on a Thursday night, I passed up the chance to meet PT Anderson to see it!
I have not seen Demonlover so no comment there. I have seen three other Assayas films - Irma Vep, Cold Water (both masterpieces) and Les Destinees Sentimentale (a whiff.) This is not quite on the order of the first two, but it doesn't try and do as much either. Its probably the finest performance I've seen Maggie do, its incredibly well made, and it is filled with heart. Many have said it is Assayas' love letter to Cheung, and I find it hard to argue. In the end however, its not "special" or "stunning" in the way IC and CW are. Its "just" a really great movie.
All true, its probably my second or third favorite movie of the year so far this year
My real choice would be a tossup between Mysterious Skin and Tropical Malady (big popular releases I know.)
Oh man, also, was it just me or was that police chase TOTALLY a Blues Brothers homage? That was awesome.
No, you are not alone.
I thought this ruled. It was the best big-budget Hollywood action flick I've seen since ... The Fugitive? Perhaps that long. It is no coincidence that both films used Chicago as their backdrop.
Having just returned, I have not yet had a lot of time to assess why this movie worked so well for me. However I remember after watching Spiderman thinking that it was two halves of a good movie, neither part (the origin and the fight against the baddie) felt fleshed out enough to stand on their own. I did not have this problem here. Nolan totally knows how to ratchet up the tension to the breaking point, this is the film I was waiting for after Memnto, not Insomnia.
Yes Bale was awesome. Also, I know this is a little un-PC, but did Katie Holmes have little attachments under shirt to make her so nipply in every scene? Do they spray canned air down there right before they yell "ACTION!" or something? I'm just askin.
"I never thanked you."
"And you'll never have to."
that is in fact 0.5
Also I hate the 4 point scale
12 Angry Men - 3.5
2001 - 4
About A Boy - 2.5
Adaptation - 2.5
Airplane! - 4
Alien - 3.5
Aliens - 4.0
Almost Famous - 1.5
Amelie - 2
American Beauty - 4
Annie Hall - 4
The Apartment - 3.5
Apocalypse Now - 3.5
The Aviator - 2.5
Before Sunrise - 3
Before Sunset - 4
The Birds - 3
Blade Runner - 2.5
Blade Runner: The Director's Cut - 4
Boogie Nights - 3.5
Bowling For Columbine - 1.5
Carrie - 3
Casablanca - 4
Catch Me If You Can - 2.5
Once Upon A Time In The WEst - 3.5
Citizen Kane - 3
A Clockwork Orange - .5
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind - 4
Only if we're talking about the original version, 2.5 for the "Special Edition"
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - 3.5
The Day The Earth Stood Stil - 4
Dead Man Walking - 3
Dead Zone - 2.5
Dog Day Afternoon - 3.5
Donnie Darko - 3
Do The Right Thing - 4
Double Indemnity - 4
Dr. Strangelove - 4
Ed Wood - 2.5
Election - 2.5
Escape From New York - 3
ET - 2
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind - 4
Eyes Wide Shut - 3.5
Fahrenheit 9/11 - 1
Fight Club - 2.5
A Fish Called Wanda - 3.5
The Fly - 3.5
Ghostbusters - 3
Godfather - 3.5
Godfather II - 4
Goodfellas - 4
The Good, The BAd, and The Ugly - 4
The Graduate - 3.5
The Grifters - 3
Groundhog Day - 3
Halloween - 4
Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone - 1.5
HItchhiker's Guide - 1.5
The In-Laws - 4
Irreversible - 4
I Shot Andy Warhol - 3
Jaws - 4
Jurassic Park - 1.5
Kill Bill: Vol 1 - 3
Kill Bill: Vol 2 - 3.5
King Of Comedy - 4
LA Confidential - 3.5
Liar Liar - 2.5
Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou - 3
Life Is Beautiful - 3
LOTR: Fellowship - 4
LOTR: Two Towers - 4
LOTR: RotK - 4
Lost In Translation - 3
Magnolia - 4
Manchurian Candidate - 4
Mnahattan - 4
Matrix - 3.5
Matrix Reloaded - 1.5
Matrix Revolutions - 1.5
Midnight Cowboy - 2
Million Dollar Baby - 3.5
Misery - 3
Nightmare On Elm Street - 4
Los Olvidados - 4
Once Upon A Time In America - 4
The Outsiders - 2
Paths Of Glory - 4
Peeping Tom - 3.5
Psycho - 4
Pulp Fiction - 4
Punch-Drunk Love - 3
Raging Bull - 4
Raiders Of The Lost Ark - 4
Rain Man - 2.5
Raising Arizona - 2.5
Rear Window - 4
Rebel Without A Cause - 2.5
Requiem For A Dream - 3.5
Reservoir Dogs - 4
Roger & ME - 3
Royal Tenenbaums - 2.5
Run Lola Run - 3
Rushmore - 4
Schindler's List - 2.5
School Of Rock - 3
Sexy Beast - 2
Shakespeare In Love - 1
Shawshank Redemption - 4
The Shining - 2.5
Sideways - 1
Silence Of The Lambs - 3
Sixth Sense - 3.5
Star Wars E1: 1.5
E2: 1.5
E4: 4
E5: 4
E6: 2
The Sting - 4
Take The Money And Run - 3
Talk TO Her - 2.5
Taxi Driver - 4
Terminator - 4
T2: 2.5
Thin Blue Line: 4
The Thing - 3
The Third Man - 3.5
Titanic - 4
Toy Story - 3.5
Truman Show - 2.5
Unfogiven - 4
Usual Suspects - 3
vertigo - 4
Waiting For Guffman - 3
Waking Life - 2
War Of The WOrlds - 3.5
When Harry Met Sally - 2
Wizard Of Oz - 2
Young Frankenstein - 3
Platoon - 3
On The WAterfront - 3
Nightmare Before Christmas - 2.5
Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom - 2
Hoop Dreams - 3
Barton Fink - 3
The 39 Steps - 3
Amadeus - 3.5
American Graffiti - 3
Bonnie And Clyde - 3.5
Chinatown - 3
The Conversation - 3.5
The Deer Hunter - 3.5
Heat - 3
I would say that Amusement Parks On Fire marks the dividing line between "Highly Recommended" and varying levels of "Not Bad" (and it toes that line itself.) Note that in many cases a lower rank doesn't mean "bad" it often just means "this is not my thing at all." The Kills is a classic example of that (although its title track is killer.) Coldplay marks the line between "Not bad" and "This is actively garbage"
I really love the first half of the Spoon record, but I feel it falls off a bit after that. Even the second half is not bad, its just not superlative. I can't compare to their past albums, since this is my first exposure to them.
Also as far as The National, its not bad, its just a) not my thing and b) I don't see what the hype is all about. Its definitely worth a bedroom crate attempt, as its not completely unworthy. Its just not particularly noteworthy. Also, I could see this being a creeper, but I don't knwo if I have the inclination to give it the time.
Amusement Parks On Fire is this very dense wall of guitars band from England that sound kind of like My Bloody Valentine with J Mascis singing. I first heard them when they played onair on KEXP but it doesn't seem to be in their archive yet. Keep checking at
http://www.kexp.org/aspnet_client/live.asp
This is the only thing I've found, an obvious bootleg
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=617&item=64036767...
But I'm not really into that whole bootleg scene
Don't even bother trying to guess the last secret fest film. Pretty good though, should get a release I would think.
Naked no less!
To the best of my knowledge Cold Water is completely out of distribution, on video or film, in any real way. I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to see it, on the big screen no less. One showing on a Thursday night, I passed up the chance to meet PT Anderson to see it!
I have not seen Demonlover so no comment there. I have seen three other Assayas films - Irma Vep, Cold Water (both masterpieces) and Les Destinees Sentimentale (a whiff.) This is not quite on the order of the first two, but it doesn't try and do as much either. Its probably the finest performance I've seen Maggie do, its incredibly well made, and it is filled with heart. Many have said it is Assayas' love letter to Cheung, and I find it hard to argue. In the end however, its not "special" or "stunning" in the way IC and CW are. Its "just" a really great movie.
If that makes any sense.