1. "what is it about Whale Rider that you liked so much?" In response to Reply # 0
I think everyone in my family saw it as very true, especially for us, and how the Western influence has fucked everything up for Polynesians across the board. It's very sad.
4. "Pretty much everything" In response to Reply # 1
I thought it was a great story, told well. That it was predictable didn't make it any less watchable. I love how it was made. I love that it presented a sincere story about loneliness and acceptance and growing up and wanting love and learning that we can be wrong in our judgment even when we're adults, without the usual crap about children all being brighter than adults. I love how it's about community and taking care of one another and it's also about independence and being true to one's own vision. And Keisha Castle-Hughes was great.
~ ~ ~ All meetings end in separation All acquisition ends in dispersion All life ends in death - The Buddha
"Just because we're well-spoken and intelligent doesn't mean we're not human." --?uestlove, justifying why the Roots have a stripper pole in their studio
but before I would add Lost In Translation, I would have to add The Secret Lives of Dentists, which I thought had way more going for it than its limited distribution might have indicated.
~ ~ ~ All meetings end in separation All acquisition ends in dispersion All life ends in death - The Buddha
7. "RE: janey's top films of 2003" In response to Reply # 0
>Bus 174
Aki Kaurismaki "The Man w/o a Past" (Kaurismaki doesn't stray from his tried-and-true formula of the human condition on a proleteriat/pedestrian level, but is at the top of his game here; tangentially, there's a Leningrad Cowboys DVD box set coming out next year from Sandrew Metronome Sweden)
Richard Massingham "How to be Eccentric: The Films of" (an amateur filmmaker, physician-by-training, dead some 50 years; although I wouldn't necessarily concur w/ the praise assigned to Massingham by Henri Langlois, nevertheless there is a genius at work in this collected series of shorts, soon to be issued on DVD via the BFI in the UK. Some claustrophobic elements, wry humor, good fun - retrospective toured North America this year after the initial "rediscovery" of his films at the 2002 Bologna Film Festival)
"other than some of cann ox, el-p's beats sound like somebody molesting a household pet" - soundsop
12. "RE: I liked Man WIthout a Past" In response to Reply # 8 Tue Dec-16-03 11:23 AM
>but not enough for it to make the list.
I admit that it's not in the class of "Drifting Clouds" nor "The Matchbox Factory Girl," but that said, in a year where the touring Ozu retrospective pretty much humbled most current entries out there, Kaurismaki's effort trumped the competition personally...
"other than some of cann ox, el-p's beats sound like somebody molesting a household pet" - soundsop
I hope & pray & I have confidence that City of God will end up being MUCH better than Better Luck 2morrow. It had great potential but it ended up being 1 of the most disapointing movies that I saw in 03.
21. "RE: if you like city of god" In response to Reply # 18
>you'll be completely blown away by Bus 174. > >It puts City of God to shame. > >Not that City of God was bad. > >Not at all. > >Bus 174 is just that much better.
22. "city of god definitely was the better one" In response to Reply # 15
it's my favorite movie of the year. maybe of the last 5 years. i think better luck tomorrow scores high with me not only b/c of the movie itself (which i did like), but also b/c of the all-asian cast, which was a big deal for the asian community here in atlanta, and elsewhere, i imagine. also, i had ultra low expectations for this movie going into it, but then was pleasantly surprised when i saw it. low expectations have a way of making average movies good and good movies great.
"I maintain with clemency and munificence" -- J-Live
"I maintain with clemency and munificence" -- J-Live
35. "I refuse to give that movie a pass" In response to Reply # 22
based on the fact that it featured an all Asian American cast. Yes it was refreshing to see, and the performances were good but in the end we're still left with an average movie.
don't know if you were asking me, but no, i haven't seen it. i'm amazed at your handle on the indy movie scene. don't know how you have the time to see 100+ movies AND devour all the novels you do (goldbug variations 3 times? that alone is more than what 90% of the okp's will read in a decade -- and they'll be reading grishom, not powers!). you must be firmly devoted to the craft of smary-pants-pop-culture consumption, if you know what i mean.
"I maintain with clemency and munificence" -- J-Live
"I maintain with clemency and munificence" -- J-Live
I quit my job as a lawyer in order to put more life in my life. Now I have so much life that if it weren't for okayplayer, I would have to write a book.
Yeah, I amaze myself sometimes.
But you'd be surprised how fast the movies add up when you go to a film festival or two. I've actually slowed down a LOT in the last couple of months because I was going to a couple of lecture series that were taking up my evenings.
And I read fast.
~ ~ ~ All meetings end in separation All acquisition ends in dispersion All life ends in death - The Buddha
11. "You don't go the the local multiplex much, do you?" In response to Reply # 0
or do you go, and just don't like what they show? I haven't seen one movie that's on your list. Its hard to find people to go to the art house theater with me though, so I don't go that often....
"People make their jokes, and say we're off to see the Wizard But me and Dorothy and Toto's on yo' ass when you visit" -Kansas City's own Tech N9ne
We the children of the Light, you know what I mean? That's why I'm hating on the darkness like Paula Deen Cause in my hood they masked up like it's Halloween We going hard for the Rock, but we not some fiends - Andy Mineo
17. "I haven't gone to a movie alone in a LONG time...." In response to Reply # 13
at least 3 years. I'm so used to going with my fiancee to the movies that I don't remember how it feels to go to a movie by myself. She doesn't like going to the arthouse theater, so I definitely would have to make that trip alone.....
"People make their jokes, and say we're off to see the Wizard But me and Dorothy and Toto's on yo' ass when you visit" -Kansas City's own Tech N9ne
We the children of the Light, you know what I mean? That's why I'm hating on the darkness like Paula Deen Cause in my hood they masked up like it's Halloween We going hard for the Rock, but we not some fiends - Andy Mineo
Some friends were asking me about that recently and I was like, Oh YEAH I see mainstream films -- I saw Sylvia and Shattered Glass. And they were like, huh? We just saw Runaway Jury.
I said, oh they made that into a movie?
My friends said, Jane, you don't see mainstream films.
~ ~ ~ All meetings end in separation All acquisition ends in dispersion All life ends in death - The Buddha
14. "haven't seen enough" In response to Reply # 0
It's difficult to get across town to the smaller theatres when i have classes and work, also alot don't make it here. But here are the ones i know will make the final cut: Master and Commander Kill Bill Whale Rider Finding Nemo
I'll probably bebable to make a real list the middle of next year when I've seen them all.
31. "yeah" In response to Reply # 30 Tue Dec-16-03 01:40 PM
Most films i got around to seeing were big budget action films and comedies. They don't really fit the bill of films i would want in a top 10 list. It's pretentious I know. Plus there are so many I'm fairly certain I'm going to love.
But heres the top 10 that i have seen:
Finding Nemo Open Range 28 Days Later Bad Santa Whale Rider The Rundown Master and Commander Mystic River Kill Bill Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
33. "Rabbit Proof Fence" In response to Reply # 32
was on my top ten list last year. Can't disagree with you there.
I really liked 25th Hour. Really a lot. For a whole host of reasons. And then there was that whole dream sequence shit at the end. I didn't need that and I don't think the film needed it either and anyway if he had to put it in, I think it should've been shorter.
But I did really like that film.
~ ~ ~ All meetings end in separation All acquisition ends in dispersion All life ends in death - The Buddha
Frank Longo Member since Nov 18th 2003 86673 posts
Thu Dec-18-03 06:40 AM
65. "The dream sequence at the end of The 25th Hour..." In response to Reply # 33
...made me sob like a child. That is one of two movies that has ever made me cry. It's not just a dream sequence, it's a confirmation of the incredible loyalty his father has to him...he's willing to never see his son again in order to ensure he has a good life, and he has enough faith in his religion to believe it's okay that he won't see him for a while, because they'll meet in the afterlife...something about Brian Cox's incredible delivery of this monologue mixed with the exquisite shooting of this alternate reality by Lee touched me. It's one of my favorite parts of the film, and a fine example of the genius of Spike Lee. And I've seen Whale Rider, and it's damn good. Seeing as how I live in Florida, I'm still waiting on the others.
I'm glad it worked for someone. Where I got kind of choked up in 25th Hour was the opening credits. I found that whole sequence to be incredibly powerful.
I love Brian Cox, by the way. I thought he gave an absolutely amazing performance in L.I.E. a couple of years ago. Have you seen that one?
~ ~ ~ All meetings end in separation All acquisition ends in dispersion All life ends in death - The Buddha
70. "RE: All about the score" In response to Reply # 67
25th hour is a great movie. The girl I was w/ @ saw it w/ @ the time was bawling @ the end as well. I thought the scene was kinda cool myself & it didnt bother me as so many other Spike endings do. But the music in that film along w/ all the 911 references & the fact that this guys life is pretty much comming to an end made it really powerful 4 me as well.
And I've said it before but I've got 2 say it again...Barry Pepper stole evey scene he was in. Never thought anyone would still scenes from Norton or Hoffman but he managed 2 do it.
City of God Raising Victor Vargas Lost in Translation Kill Bill Volume 1 Whale Rider American Splendor Dirty Pretty Things (maybe not perfect but I loved it)
i think i'm forgetting some but that's it for now
You always remind me of how many movies I haven't seen
I was in SF a week after the screening of Bus174. My timing always sucks
is in limited distribution. That means it will be available on video at some point. It was in SF for several weeks late this year. I intended to see it a third time, but....
I'm not the biggest American Splendor fan. I know a lot of people have it in their top ten, but it didn't really grab me like that. I liked it, I liked it a lot, but there was one moment in the film that was so true, so perfect, that it kind of skewed the rest of it for me. Remember when Harvey and Toby have a scene and then move off center and sit down and listen to Real Harvey and Real Toby talk? That was perfect, in my opinion. Nothing else in the film touched it.
~ ~ ~ All meetings end in separation All acquisition ends in dispersion All life ends in death - The Buddha
- Bullseye with Jesse Thorn A public radio show about things that are awesome. http://www.maximumfun.org "This is the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world." - McSweeney's
61. "some are foreign, as well" In response to Reply # 60
The Barbarian Invasions - French Canadian The Station Agent - small independent first film Lawless Heart - British Raising Victor Vargas - you know this one Bus 174 - Brazilian documentary Whale Rider - New Zealand La Turbulence des Fluides - French Canadian, no US distributor The Mudge Boy - small independent first feature, developed through Sundance with some Showtime money, no distributor.
It's not snobbishness that drives this. What's really going on here is that there is a certain kind of film that really gets to me. It's a very personal kind of film that takes me into the heart of someone's experience. And that's what's reflected in this list.
If I could twist your arm, I would force you to see three on my list: The Station Agent, Bus 174, and The Barbarian Invasions. And if you claimed that you don't like films based strongly on dialogue, I might even let you out of The Barbarian Invasions. But the other two, for entirely different reasons, are the ones I want everyone to see.
~ ~ ~ All meetings end in separation All acquisition ends in dispersion All life ends in death - The Buddha
72. "oh, i've heard of Bus 174..." In response to Reply # 61
i think anyway...isn't it a documentary about some guy who took a bus hostage in brazil? i remember reading an article about it in the newspaper a few months back and being a bit confused as to whether the footage in the film was actual real life footage or recreated footage for the movie.
it seemed interesting though since they played up the fact that the dude who did the hijacking of the bus wasn't really a bad guy, but more like a guy who had been put through a lot and finally snapped due to his conditions...
It wasn't that they tried to justify what he did so much as raise our level of understanding of the complexity of the issues. It's a portrayal of a system in which everything has gone wrong, from the social workers to the family to the police force to the local government to the news media. I mean, everything.
~ ~ ~ All meetings end in separation All acquisition ends in dispersion All life ends in death - The Buddha
44. "a short list" In response to Reply # 0 Wed Dec-17-03 12:41 AM
I don't think I saw a lot of movies this year. I was gonna check out Bus 174 but it came out the day before my trip to Egypt.
In any case,
- Kill Bill - City of God - Swimming Pool L'Auberge Espagnole ( It came this year in my city)
I had to add in Ken Park as well. I was so glad to be able to catch it in Europe.
But I wished I had seen -Whale Rider - The Magdalene Sisters ( My sister liked it a lot) -DogVille ( it was showing when I was in Paris) -Elephant -Dirty Pretty Things
No time and constant travelling will do that to you.....
School of Rock (damn I loved this movie, definitely my favorite of the year) Lost in Translation American Splendor Dirty Pretty Things Kill Bill Vol. 1
wish I had seen: Mystic River, 21 Grams, City of God, Raising Victor Vargas, Bus 174
64. "RE: Big Fish" In response to Reply # 55 Thu Dec-18-03 04:53 AM
no, but I heard that it's better than the movie. actually, i think I'll take it off the list because thinking about it I thought it was ok but not as great as the rest on the list. I enjoyed the actors more than the movie itself. Finney, Ewan and Billy Crudup were all solid. I think it's just Tim Burton using the best of both worlds of "let's use weird crap but mix some drama that'll strike Oscar gold." I think he hit his peak with "Ed Wood." I did check out "In America" and that was great.
------------------------ "You can't just go out and buy a championship ring ... well, unless Dwight Gooden runs out of coke." -Adam Carolla
51. "BTW's top films of 2003" In response to Reply # 0
1 - Lost in Translation = Perfect 10. Liked everything about this film.
2 - Morvern Callar (Saw in January so I guess it counts) = Another 10. Samantha Morton is amazing and the filmmaking here is unbelievable. Don't be fooled by the synopsis and off-putting title.
3 - 25th Hour = Saw on DVD but made a big impression on me for at least a month after. One of the best ensemble casts ever put together. Spike's best film since "Mo Betta"
4 - My Life Without Me = Not amazing but very good. Mark Ruffalo sells his part so hard...
5 - Raising Victor Vargas = This is great. Very enjoyable. Helps that it's shot in my nbhood I guess.
6 - Demonlover = So slick. Would buy this just to watch it on mute.
7 - Swimming Pool - Not great, not terrible. Can't help but like that sexy French girl.
8 - 21 Grams = Devastating film. Admirable but hard to recommend and certainly no repeat viewing. Three of the finest acting performances of the year without question.
53. "My life without me" In response to Reply # 51
I had a very hard time keeping any kind of perspective on this one because I was so ANGRY with her for (1) not telling anyone and (2) leaving messages for everyone telling them how to live their lives, to be listened to only after she was dead. I mean, talk about having to have the last word!
She pissed me off so bad.
But yeah, Ruffalo was great.
And if you're a Samantha Morton fan, do see In America. She's the second best thing about the film (the first best are the two little girls), and her role is SO different from Morvern Callar.
~ ~ ~ All meetings end in separation All acquisition ends in dispersion All life ends in death - The Buddha
54. "I like all of these" In response to Reply # 52
>Dirty Pretty Things >Revolution Will Not Be Televised >Man on the Train
I guess I just didn't like them quite enough. It's hard to pare down to a small number. But RWNBT is a very fine example of good documentary filmmaking. Too bad it had to come out in the same year as Bus 174, which is so moving that nothing could stand up to it, and Unprecedented, which pissed me off about the U.S. way more than RWNBT could.
But yeah, I like all of yours.
> >Good list though, must be tough when you watch all those >movies..
I look more and more like a mole every day.
Hi, by the way.
~ ~ ~ All meetings end in separation All acquisition ends in dispersion All life ends in death - The Buddha
62. "off the top of my head" In response to Reply # 0
Movies that stayed with me this year:
City of God Lost in Translation 28 Days Later Whale Rider
I'm hoping that Bad Santa is deeply funny, but we won't know until we see it. I'm certain I'll dig LOTR-ROTK... Haven't seen The Station Agent or Bus 187umm, both high on my list of movies to see.
And meanwhile, in worst or most disappointing category, Matrix Reloaded was unbelievably disappointing... I actually put this list together somewhere else and there were some funny ones... what were they?... Oh well, I'll return if I remember.
It's worse than not insightful. It's not funny. --W. Allen
It's worse than not insightful. It's not funny. --W. Allen
Where it's slow, it's REALLY slow. Where it's stupid, it's REALLY stupid. It suffers from a number of problems -- Bernie Mac is not well used; John Ritter died in the middle of filming so that whole subplot just kind of disappears at the end; the whole ending feels cobbled together and tacked on at the last minute. It has no redeeming social value.
That said, where it is funny, it is REALLY funny. In the Zwigoff as director/Coen brothers as producers kind of genre. Very, very funny moments.
~ ~ ~ All meetings end in separation All acquisition ends in dispersion All life ends in death - The Buddha
69. "Edit: That's a TALKING walnut, lol" In response to Reply # 68
I love that.
I love the whole drop a non sequitor or anachronism in the middle of things and don't explain it or comment on it kind of thing that was going on throughout that film. Like Marcus's elf ears being peach colored, you know?
~ ~ ~ All meetings end in separation All acquisition ends in dispersion All life ends in death - The Buddha
63. "RE: janey's top films of 2003" In response to Reply # 0
OK. I've only seen two of the movies you listed, but I do plan to see some of the others. If I was to make a list of my own, it would also include "Spellbound" - that documentary was definitely one of the top movie-going experiences of the past year for me. Others I'd put on a best of year list: "The Station Agent" (of course), "Lost In Translation", "City of God", and (once I see it) "Return Of The King". Those are the only ones that stand out as "great" films. There are several other movies that I liked and would recommend highly, but for whatever reason fell short of greatness in my eyes. (I'm such a goddamn film snob!)
Whale Rider Raising Victor Vargas The Cuckoo The Station Agent L'Auberge Espagnol The Magdelene Sisters Elephant Lost In Translation A Mighty Wind Spider Kill Bill Capturing the Friedmans Die Mommie Die Spellbound
Boston Red Sox - The worst is over. Let's do this.
77. "Alphabetical (I think)" In response to Reply # 76
21 Grams 28 Days Later Bus 174 Capturing the Friedmans City of God Dirty Pretty Things Girlhood Lilya 4-ever Lost in Translation Madame Sata Raising Victor Vargas Station Agent Wattstax The Weather Underground Whale Rider Yossi & Jagger
Afro Punk Drowned Out Funny Ha Ha Lost Boys of the Sudan Love and Diane Ma Vraie Vie Rouen Sexual Dependency
80. "Just saw barbarian invasions" In response to Reply # 0
i love the hell out of it. Got a kick out of it's depiction of the canadian healthcare system. Never thought a film about death could make me so happy.
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