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More Of Moriarty’s Holiday Marathon Catch-Up! MARIE And BLOOD DIAMOND And PERFUME And LIVES OF OTHERS And VEIL!!

wow by cornponious	Jan 12th, 2007 05:56:14 AM
That's a lot.
I must be the anti-Moriarty... by Sledge Hammer	Jan 12th, 2007 06:22:15 AM
...because I disagree with him on almost every film I've seen on that list. I thought Blood Diamond was really damn good, that Marie Antionette was absolute featherweight self indulgent dross (even if it was well shot dross), and that A Scanner Darkly was yet another self aware Linklater wankfest experiment just as the horribly self indulgent Waking Life was (and I'm a hardcore Philip K Dick fan too, and don't particularly hate Linklaters other films). I find that whole rotoscoping angle very gimmicky and distracting, but I was willing to overcome that if everything else worked. But it didn't. Not for me at least. And I so wanted it to. Oh well. I do agree that Miss Potter was pretty damn poor and strictly by the numbers fare, and I still say that Zellweger hasn't given a decent performance since, well, pretty much ever. Strictly a one schtick pony. "If yew need actin' lessons, heyre I yam"... Still, opinions do vary and all, so, yeah.
"...and the return of the dvd column" by yaz67	Jan 12th, 2007 06:56:10 AM
"...and the return of the dvd column." We'll have to see it to believe it. Really miss the DVD blog. One movie at a time. Short or long review, doesn't matter.
Point of view is powerful by staticneuron	Jan 12th, 2007 07:06:28 AM
I really enjoyed Blood diamond and The last Samurai and I never saw it another way until it was just pointed out. My question is about performance. Do you really think Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise were that bad to bring this glaring issue to the front? Or is it that the Side characters performances are so strong that they make the main roles seem weaker? What do you think would have happened to the story and ambiance if the main characters just weren't there or had weaker roles? I understand the typical hollywood drivel gets annoying at times but these movies were the few exceptions in which I didn't feel the need to pay attention to the casting.
the "twist ending" to The Illusionist is fairly weak by triplefive	Jan 12th, 2007 07:10:05 AM
It is obvious is you look for it, and even if you don't, you'll still probably know what's happening before Giamatti's character does. The movie was alright, but I much prefer the smarter and better made Prestige
Das Leben Der Anderen by AllieJamison	Jan 12th, 2007 07:20:34 AM
It's very interesting to see Das Leben Der Anderen reviece such praise among american online film critics, bloggers, writers, whatever. Yeah...the praise is not that surprising because this is just a good movie. Still I felt a bit disappointed by it when I saw it some time ago. I saw The Conversation shortly after I saw Das Leben Der Anderen and, while I don't want to let these two films collide in a duell, I found the style in which The Conversation manages to portray the topic was exactly what I missed in Donnersmarck's film. While you could argue that the stiff style of Das Leben der anderen was a deliberate choice (my brother liked that Guckkasten mode) I also thought that the cinematic experience was diminished by some quirky points in the plot. I love Ulrich Mühe, he's one of my facorite german actors because he's got that very feminine and sensitive appearance. Actually the whole esemble of this film is great...another outstanding actor: Ulrich Tukur, that scene in the Stasi Kantine where he is telling that joke is great. One question remains for me: Why end a movie with a still picture?
I'm still anticipating A by AllieJamison	Jan 12th, 2007 07:27:33 AM
I'm still anticipating A Scanner Darkly. It may help though to watch 35 movies a week to reach a state that is quite similar to this film protagonists. I don't know if you do the films you watch any justice if you watch 35 of them in a row. In the end though, this probably depends on what type you are..if you've got that habitus moriarty has...it's probably ok.
Thank God for the Mori by ye olde shiza	Jan 12th, 2007 08:15:40 AM
Wow ... it sure was nice to read these reviews after reading that "cum fountain" review from Harry. I felt the same way about many of these movies ... and it's funny you mentioned "Shadowboxer." We donated a whole wall section for this movie at the Blockbuster I work at, and even though it consistently rented out, everyone would bring it back with these looks of disgust on their faces. I only heard one person say they enjoyed it, and he was an idiot ... he also hyped up "Date Movie." Alas, I rented that in a bout of depression, and I couldn't make it more than ten minutes into it before screaming and ripping my own flesh off. There are still long gashes on the sides of my DVD player where I was trying desperately to rip that disc out. "Shadowboxer" has Cuba Fucking Jr. in it ... and without his big teeth, I don't know if there's any reason I would watch him. He's like the anti-Laurence Fishburne for me. While Fishy went from playing a rhinestone-covered minstrel in Cowboy Curtis to being the bad ass actor he is today, Cuba went straight from stardom into a total mockery of himself. Shit. Thanks for the reviews.
TOM TYKWER IS COOKIN. THE...... by DOGSOUP	Jan 12th, 2007 08:21:23 AM
..No he's not. He's a stand up guy.
Perfume, pretty but vapid. by Kizeesh	Jan 12th, 2007 09:14:45 AM
Looked amazing, haven't seen a prettier film this side of Mary Antoinette, and ironically had the same problems with it. In MA the trouble was the anachronistic soundtrack which WILL date the film horridly in about 5-10 years time (we can pray they'll wallop an orchestral score as a secondary track on the DVD) But with Perfume it was the facile dialogue and trite delivery. Not even frim Ben Wishaw who's character was supposed to be clumsy with words but even the narration was written poorly and felt as if it was being spoken to a child.
Linklater's Fast Food Nation film was disappointing by Greg7007	Jan 12th, 2007 09:42:22 AM
Good job Mori. I agree, Richard Linklater is an admirable filmmaker, but even though Mori didn't discuss it, Linklater's mediocre writing and directing effort on his recent Fast Food Nation film was a great disappointment, as was the smugness he demonstrated when he was doing press for the FFN film.
Lost In Translation sucked so much by Lovecraftfan	Jan 12th, 2007 09:52:59 AM
Great acting does not cover lazy directing and a screenplay that meanders to nowhere interesting.
Jessica "Beihl"...? by Osmosis Jones	Jan 12th, 2007 10:23:39 AM
.
DVD Blog by ArchCarrier	Jan 12th, 2007 11:27:46 AM
Moriarty: Why don't you just continue your dvd blog, instead of waiting for some miraculous breakthrough in the programming abilities of the AICN "developers" that will allow you to post on this site? You can always move your blog posts over to AICN when they have finally figured out how to install WordPress...
people seriously slept on marie antionette by reckni	Jan 12th, 2007 11:36:05 AM
great flick, and everyone i know that actually saw it agrees. love the soundtrack!
The Illusionist is crap by Strabo	Jan 12th, 2007 11:51:33 AM
Oh yeah, crap. Crap crap crap crap crap. Spoilers ahead! I was enjoying the movie all the way until the twist reveal. Through the whole film they constantly talk about how ruthless and cruel Rufus Sewell's Prince character is...except they never show him doing anything particularly mean, outside of being a prick when he talks to people. So, in the end, Norton and Biel's plan to run away together ends up costing Sewell's Prince his life, while having showed no real justification for it. On top of that, the two of them played Giamatti's character for a fool as a tool in their plan, costing him his job/profession. Norton and Biel royally fucked over several people, and without reason. That doesn't make them heroes to me, that makes them complete ass holes.
Strabo & the Illusionist by ye olde shiza	Jan 12th, 2007 12:45:16 PM
The whole reason they wanted to run away was that the prince was going to overthrow the emperor ... he was only marrying Biel to get the backing of her family in the coup. That being said, I did think the twist sort of deflated the film a little ... Sewell was justified in being arrested, and it was nice to see Giamatti finally take a stand against someone who he knew was corrupt, but nothing really satisfied me about the resolution as far as Eisenheim and Biel were concerned. I enjoyed the movie, sure, but for me ... The Prestige won out by showing off much more complex characters, and the depths at which one will go.
Mori GOTTA EAT! by BGDAWES	Jan 12th, 2007 12:51:32 PM
Uh, I mean - McWeeny GOTTA EAT!
Here's the thing with Marie Antoinette by IndustryKiller!	Jan 12th, 2007 12:59:45 PM
First of all that was a good review Mori. In fact it had me feeling bad for a moment for not loving the film. Then I thought about it a bit mroe and got my bearings back. The deal with the film is that, while you are right about displaying subtleties, these characters are losers. I mean yeah they are rich and royal but that is literally all they have going for them. Otherwise they are shallow and boring, which would be fine if the film was more of an examination, but it establishes the mentality of the characters early on and doesn't dig deeper. Early in the film I thought it would portray Marie as a girl who, frustrated with her lack of freedom within the monarchy, takes advantage and rebels the only way she knows how, through constant partying and spending, effectivbely duping the institution. But no, she just becomes spoiled and buys alot of stuff and just when it seems like she going to be forced to get over that the film ends. All that I could take from the film was that Marie Antoinette, despite her immense fame, did nothing of note whatsoever except get her head chopped off. Witht hat said the use of modern language int he film was used beautifully and not exploited in the least allowing for characters that at least initially come off as human beings. It certainly wasn't a bad film, I'm just wondering why this is the story Coppola felt she had to tell.
ye olde shiza by Strabo	Jan 12th, 2007 01:23:06 PM
See, if he had managed to start the Coup, or something like that, sure, that would have made him a "bad" guy (honestly, one monarch overthrowing another doesn't really bother me, they're still automatically assholes for being monarchs), but we really didn't get to see anything concrete about his plans...so, again, he's just an arrogant prick. That doesn't mean he deserves to have his life ruined to the point where he's forced to kill himself. Even _if_ that's the case, they didn't really show how the change in monarch would really affect Norton and Biel, nor did they show that Norton and Biel were particularly concerned with the fate of their countrymen. Anyway, I agree...The Prestige is a thousand times the film that The Illusionist is, and it's been sadly ignored in the awards and nominations handed out thus far.
Tired. by J Skell	Jan 12th, 2007 02:30:30 PM
Hey Industry killer. I think I'm tired of talkback. I was about to justify why everything Mori said about Marie Antionette and about how I found your opinions insightful, but I disagree. But then I remembered all this stuff is just a matter of taste. Really that's all it is. I've spent the last 6 months trying to figure out why everyone liked Little Miss Sunshine when I think it is one of the worst written movies I've seen in years. Now it's basically a lock for best picture and what do my tirades against it matter? Not it all. So then, Mori, that was some damn good stuff. Thanks.
Wow. by J Skell	Jan 12th, 2007 02:31:45 PM
Wow. my grammar was terrible in that last post. Apologies. I have to stop writing this crap when I'm distracted.
Marie Antoinette by PwnedByStallone	Jan 12th, 2007 03:29:33 PM
This was a good movie. Really shit on for no particular reason. I wrote a review of it as well and similarly I proposed the French couldn't handle a depiction of M.A. that wasn't unabashedly demonic. This movie is extremely well-made and I think the hoopla created at Canne really screwed it unfairly.
I also like Marie Antoinette... by Ernie Souchak	Jan 12th, 2007 09:05:12 PM
Coppola did an amazing job personalizing the story, but making it universally relevant, not unlike a Shakespeare history play.
i agree about 'm.a.' by occula	Jan 12th, 2007 09:09:30 PM
i was predisposed to be a hater because i think sofia coppola doesn't actually direct films...someone else does it for her (nudge, nudge, wink wink). however, i thought she got it pitch-perfect this time and honestly i thought dunst did too. industrykiller, marie antoinette didn't rebel against anything. she was a puppet of the monarchy and, in point of fact, got her head chopped off because she and her husband spent down the treasury, not because the people didn't love her. they did, in fact. the pathos of her character is just that...she was a woman-child trapped by the system, and the design, the camera, even the music - which WAS canny, definitely - did a great job. i was quite surprised and i think the french making noise about it gave it a bad rap.
I just saw Perfume and HATED it...SPOILERS... by DanielKurland	Jan 12th, 2007 09:11:13 PM
The cinematography was about the only passable thing in my opinion, and there's a beautiful shot of one of the dead bodies amongst flowers, but everything else was awful in my opinion. I didn't feel that he was injecting things with humor, but rather that it was unintentionally funny. Dustin Hoffman's character was all over the place. It was just confusing that everyone Jean Baptiste came in contact with died, and the ending of the movie was just ridiculous with the angel, and the group orgy, and then his body just disappearing at the end. Also, the wholse scene at the party, where there needs to be some clever way for Jean Baptiste to be able to catch Laura, and then someone just yells out "Let's play hide and seek!", well that was convenient. Now, some of my dislike may stem from that I thought it would be more about a murderer, while, the film DOES focus on Jean Baptiste almost exclusively, it felt more about a fairy tale about a love potion, and if it was meant to be that, than that's fine, but to have the subheading "Story of a Murderer" in your title, it clearly shows the type of tone you're setting. Sorry if I'm being a little harsh here, but I saw Pan's Labyrinth right after it, which was great ,and the last bunch of movies I saw have all been fantastic, so I guess I had higher standards here.
overall analysis by dudmc	Jan 12th, 2007 11:26:36 PM
In today's society, we have become predispositioned towards either witty or sincere. With regards to your best of the year, catch up article, The Illusionist harkens back towards those 40s films, except that it is so meticulously well written and executed that there exists no moment which deserves (or expects) a pithy response. That is why this film summarily trumps The Prestige, which is infinitely flashier and obviously has more money. At its heart, The Illusionist is greatly conceived and even better executed. As for Ed Zwick, what about The Siege? Personally, flaws and all, I loved the film because I think it had that sense of cognitive awareness of the world in which it was being made. And I dare you to say that Annette Benning was the "white character" showing the world through the "black guy's" viewpoint. Or how about "Courage Under Fire". Not one of my favorite Ed Zwick's films, but yet again where a major Hollywood director has attempted to step outside the racial box. When was the last time Marty Scorsese tried that? Or aside from Amistad, Spielberg? Nobody decries or denounces Scorsese for the lack of African American influence in his seminal classics. Double Standard? What ever happened to just good old fashioned great movie making? (See the Illusionist).
Marie Antoinette will be a cult classic by barnaby jones	Jan 13th, 2007 08:01:40 AM
Its just an absolute feast for the eyes and ears. Stuffy critics just hated it because it didn't play like your typical period piece movie.
The virgin suicdes was her only great film by emeraldboy	Jan 13th, 2007 08:49:08 AM
The rest really havent stood up to the mark. Lost in translation is a boring movie. racist in places and is an utterly grey film to look at. It was too dreamy. Pretenious nonsense of the worst kind. The best scene is the opener with scarlets heart shaped ass.
Sofia's dad name is like an albatross by emeraldboy	Jan 13th, 2007 08:54:50 AM
around her neck. There is nothing she can do about her name and she is stuck with it. Its like jake scott. Jake Scott is the son of Tony scott and is the nephew of Sir Ridley scott. You dont hear too much from Jake scott these days, pLunkett and Maclean was an awful film. long drawn out and the story was an incoherent mess.
I didn't like Blood Diamond either by CherryValance	Jan 13th, 2007 08:57:38 AM
but for different reasons. I never thought of the whole white guy thing. I just thought it was preachy and sucky at the same time.
oh please! by occula	Jan 13th, 2007 10:33:34 AM
you don't actually feel SORRY for sofia coppola, do you? do you feel sorry for nic cage, also a coppola? for jason schwartzman? for talia shire? sofia coppola is a powerful filmmaker because nepotism is one of the foundations hollywood was laid on, PLUS because she had spike jonze as her right hand telling her how to do everything. she's getting better as a filmmaker because she's smart and paid attention...otherwise, yes, she'd be another jake scott (who is ridley's son, not nephew).
Chickychow... by DanielKurland	Jan 13th, 2007 11:59:01 AM
We more or less seem to agree over Perfume. I'm aware that it was more of a fantasy with thriller thrown in, which is fine, but I was frustrated because it wasn't marketed that way. And yes, that would be a marketing problem, not with the film itself, but the fact that they have that "Story of a Murderer" in it's title leads me to believe that they wanted people to think it was a thriller first and foremost. And yes, 2.5 hours for this film was far too long.

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More Of Moriarty’s Holiday Marathon Catch-Up! MARIE And BLOOD DIAMOND And PERFUME And LIVES OF OTHERS And VEIL!!

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