i just returned M, the Sword of Doom, Sahara, and Extras disc 1. I accidentally left the sealed discs in my lobby yesterday. They weren't there when I got back. I had hoped some nice neighbor mailed them for me, instead of, you know, stealing them. Today I got the notice that they were recieved, and my new ones mailed. I love Netflix! Thanks, mystery neighbor!
art [email] said at 12:28 PM 06-28-2007: I just bought some DVDs of Lawrence of Arabia, Seabiscuit and Planes, Trains and Automobiles. I was trying to find Tombstone but they were out. I sold off my VCR tapes a coupla years back and am trying to restock in DVDs
josh [email] said at 1:53 PM 06-28-2007: i have the original goodfellas DVd before they had dual layer discs, and you have to flip it. i need to upgrade to the newer deluxe edition version
dave [email] said at 12:36 PM 06-28-2007: Little Children, based on a book by the same guy who wrote Election. The movie turned out with a better ending than the novel.
dave [email] said at 12:38 PM 06-28-2007: also forgot to mention, the sex offender in the film is the bad kid from the original bad news bears. Jackie Earle Haley
brandonA [email] said at 12:55 PM 06-28-2007: not much - Judd apatow's tv shows; discreet charm of the bourgeoisie (way overrated); kingpin (again); current big love episodes; the tudors (which has good moments but in general is not very good)
this week I plan to watch all of the wong kar-wai / tony leung movies, maybe as a marathon.
brandonA [email] said at 1:44 PM 06-28-2007: that's what I'm halfway through and yeah there's not a whole lot to it. Some funny moments here and there, but it's pretty much just fluff - plus the actors are inferior. FnG was an excellent show.
josh [email] said at 1:16 PM 06-28-2007: sahara was pretty awesome, it made me want to rent all the other lesser-known humphrey bogart movies. i'm particularly interested in:
in a lonely place
the enforcer
all through the night
beat the devil
jake [email] said at 6:09 PM 06-28-2007: No way--He was grizzled geek cool before geeks were old enough to be grizzled. And check out his mammoth torso! Must need all that anchorage for his humungous bogie.
josh [email] said at 1:18 PM 06-28-2007: demonseed is amazing, btw, if you have never seen it. hostel sort of sucks. actually it really sucks... eli roth is suprising well spoken, and very charismatic, but he is not a good filmmaker.
josh [email] said at 1:52 PM 06-28-2007: hostel is a good idea crippled by a bad script and shitty filmmaking.
hostel 2 seems like the same... eli roth talked about the movie on the treatment, and what he said about the movie made it sound clever and great... i'd be really suprised if the movie is either of those things, though.
reggie [email] said at 9:58 PM 06-28-2007: I get the feeling Roth can really talk a good game but can't deliver the goods (outside of Thanksgiving and that was just a trailer.)
I read a couple of articles/interviews in some filmmaking and screenwriting magazines re: Hostel II that made me actually want to see it. Then the movie actually came out and seems to be universally hated.
jake [email] said at 6:11 PM 06-28-2007: I really enjoyed Hostel. It's got a very creepy premise and I thought the movie did a good job of easing into it slowly, with enjoyable characters. It does a lot of surprising things, and I think the level of fucked-up-ness of the premise is well matched to the unpredictable moves of the plot. But if Josh didn't like it, I guess I'm wrong and it actually sucks.
brandonA [email] said at 7:29 PM 06-28-2007: enjoyable characters?!? I'm not going to argue with your taste, but every single person in this movie was a) 1-dimensional and b)annoying to the point of being loathsome
jake [email] said at 2:56 AM 06-29-2007: The three main guys were enjoyable, to me. Yes, they were the typical fratty guys from horror films, but grown up a little. The characters might be 1 dimensional, but they felt right. Everyone I know that's gone euro-tripping had a big blond friend like that guy. And the other two, well, not the most nuanced characters I've ever seen, but they did the job just fine.
My standards may be lower for what I expect in this kind of film?
brandonA [email] said at 1:47 PM 06-28-2007: hostel is dumber than saw, IMO. somebody needs to tell roth that hostel 2 tanked because his movies are bad, and not a sign that R rated horror is on the decline (which may or may not be true)...
That said, I would still be in the theater for Thanksgiving if it was made...
josh [email] said at 1:13 PM 06-28-2007: i just revised my top 10 queue items:
- breach
- the last wave
- the most dangerous game
- and soon the darkness
- django
- a lizard in woman's skin
- master touch
- all the colours of the dark
- stoked: the rise and fall of gator
- la haine
kiche [email] said at 1:48 PM 06-28-2007: a lizard in a woman's skin has some pretty interesting scenes, but it's not a good movie. of course it's been "reconstructed".
all the colors of the dark is better and has some neat scenes, but it's just a b-grade rosemary's baby knock off.
i seem to remember la haine being very good when i saw it on tv back in the 90s.
shelly [email] said at 1:42 PM 06-28-2007: Death Bed: the Bed that Eats is one of my favorite recent views. The ghost of Aubrey Beardsley is the real star.
Grey Gardens is next on my list and I can't believe I haven't seen it before now.
jake [email] said at 6:17 PM 06-28-2007: I hesitate to post this since I know it's only good for ridicule, but that's what killoggs is for:
-Jarhead
-The Lake House
-The Good Shephard
-Saw 2 (reviewing before I pick up Saw 3)
-Hostel (same reason)
-Sky High (gonna show it at camp if it's any good)
-Wicker Man (remake)
I just watched The Weather Man on cable while cooking last night. It was promoted as a lighthearted career comedy, sort of Anchorman with less slapstick, right?
Instead it was a morass of self-pity and self-doubt, with some Wes Anderson moments of awkward incomprehension, and a child molestation subplot. In other words, a traffic accident experience.
josh [email] said at 8:53 AM 06-29-2007: yeah, but i mean, you get 3-8 dvds at a time, depending on your plan. so if you want the extra disc just queue it. and most rental places wont let you get, for example, all 6 discs of a sopranos season for one rental fee. some might, but most i've been too break shows up by disc.
reggie [email] said at 1:08 PM 06-29-2007: Netflix is about as useful to me as third term from George W. Bush.
What's the point of opening an account when all I have to do is go here?
I've already had this discussion, I rent movies when I want to. I don't really watch that many movies at home anyway despite having a fairly large selection of my own. On top of that, I work at a place where I can BUY used copies of movies at a fairly nice discount.
I asked the question because I was curious if when you rent a movie (like say the Deluxe version of Hellboy) do you get all the extra discs that are SUPPOSED to come with the movie?
josh [email] said at 1:11 PM 06-29-2007: you can get the discs, if you want them. or if you dont care about the extras, skip em. i definitely dont always get the extra disc, expecially if it's some bama hollywood guilty pleasure movie. who needs to watch disc 2 of MI:3 or something like that? i mean, if you are a big MI fan i guess.
josh [email] said at 1:13 PM 06-29-2007: oh, and i agree there is no need to join a mail rental company if you are one of the lucky people who live in walking distance of a good video store. i don't though, so netflix it is!
reggie [email] said at 1:31 PM 06-29-2007: well technically I don't anymore either but my store (for the time being at least) is.
Even here in the Vernon though I'd choose Americain over Netflix. The last time I was there the guy behind the counter recommended some Michael Haneke films to me (and through one in free of charge.)
reggie [email] said at 1:33 PM 06-29-2007: I will say that Netflix's new "Watch it on your computer" feature is more towards my tendencies since it's geared towards spontaneity.
josh [email] said at 1:57 PM 06-29-2007: my approach is geared towards spontaneity, also. when movies come out that i know i want to see, i rent them and save them to my computer so i can watch them on my TV whenever i feel like it. this does take a bit of tech savvy though, i guess. i have like 50 movies saved that i have yet to watch.
josh [email] said at 1:54 PM 06-29-2007: i wouldnt choose any place that 1) i would have to drive to, 2) has late fees. bad combination for my pocket book.
when i lived in CP i regularly would owe potomac video the amount = to a month of netflix in fees, not even counting the rental costs. now that i would have to find a street parking spot if i wanted to return a movie, it would be even worse.
reggie [email] said at 2:18 PM 06-29-2007: I've never understood this worldwide fear of late fees. Last time I rented movies I picked 'em up on Friday and they weren't due back until the following Wednesday. That's almost a whole week. I know the time limits are shorter on newer releases but I rarely rent newer releases.
But why rent a movie if you don't plan on watching it relatively soon? That's more a rhetorical question but y'know answer if ya want.
It's like renting a Flexcar today that you don't plan on driving until a week from now.
Dangit I tried to avoid this! We're having this discussion again!!!
josh [email] said at 2:39 PM 06-29-2007: the problem isn't watching, it's returning. i have a problem with things that are due at certain times. especially with a hectic schedule, and especially if i have to drive there. if the video store in my hood was good i could rent there, because if i wanted to return the shizz, id just walk over. but getting into my car, driving to charles village, driving back, and then looking for a parking spot for 5-10 minutes is a bit of a hurdle.
josh [email] said at 2:40 PM 06-29-2007: also the fear of them is that when i used to rent movies from potomac @ the dirtfarm, i paid from $20-40 in late fees a month. they add up. if you rent 4 movies on friday and they are due on monday (new releases) and you return them tuesday thats $10 right there, not even counting the $12 or 16 or whatever it cost to rent them.
kiche [email] said at 4:13 PM 06-29-2007: i rent movies from AMAZING ny video rental stores. but i also have a netflix account in order to have movies around; because i really like watching movies.
although, i probably plan my movie watching schedule out more than you do.
you -may- want to rethink netflix -if- this is your thing.
reggie [email] said at 8:47 PM 06-29-2007: My movie watching "schedule" is pretty much something like this:
wow it sure is hot out here today...i need to clean out my car...i should pick up some beer...wow that girl is hot...what time do I work tomorrow...i should swing by Chipotle...Oooh I should go rent something by Robert Altman or maybe Jean-Pierre Melville...
Okay maybe it's not thaaat random but that's more or less my decision process.
brandonA [email] said at 12:22 PM 06-29-2007: If a movie is long enough to span two disks, you get both disks as one (not counting when the second disk is extra material).
brad [email] said at 10:58 PM 07-09-2007: It's annoying, because you no longer have the option of doing it the old way. So If I want to move a movie from position 467, for instance to position 10, I have a lot of dragging to do.
NathanK said at 11:21 PM 07-01-2007: Mad Hot Ballroom - again, because it's so good
Even Dwarves Started Small
For Your Consideration - anything with ex-SCTV members is going to be funny to me
reggie [email] said at 11:53 PM 07-09-2007: Aronofsky is one of the most frustrating filmmakers out there for me. I really like him as a person and he's incredibly smart and not really arrogant or pretentious or anything. He just doesn't make movies I buy into. I keep going hoping that the law of averages will dictate that I will wind up completely digging one of his movies somewhere down the line (as much as I rag on Lynch even I admit to liking Wild at Heart and parts of Blue Velvet.)
brandon [email] said at 11:59 PM 07-09-2007: You didn't like Requiem? PI didn't do it for me, though I liked the shots. I loved RFaD. I still watch it from time to time, and cry like a baby. A baby that just went ass-to-ass for a score, had its arm chopped off, before being forcefed, and finally sentenced to the bird on a chain-gang in Florida. That kind of baby. That's how I cry.
brad [email] said at 2:44 AM 07-10-2007: Requiem was pretty impressive. I never read the novel, but I did read Last Exit to Brooklyn which was INTENSE, unlike the movie, and if the novel Requiem is anything like Last Exit in tone, Darren Aronofsky did a very good job of bringing that intensity to the screen.
josh [email] said at 8:17 AM 07-10-2007: i liked pi, considering its budget and non professional actors etc. pretty awesome for what was basically a student film.
reggie [email] said at 10:05 AM 07-10-2007: I thought it was overblown and very very heavy-handed. I felt no sympathy for any of the characters except (possibly) the mother. Compare Requiem to Jesus' Son, another movie about addiction that came out around the same time. It's smart enough to have a sense of humor yet never succumbs to parody. It never once asks us to pity its characters and spends most of the movie establishing their simple flawed humanity so that when bad things do happen they resonate more.
There's nothing that was the least bit surprising or left up to the imagination in Requiem and I think that's what bugs me the most. You can tell pretty early on how heavy the movie was going to be and it delivered. I just think it would have been nice to not paint the characters as such unlovable losers.
I also don't think it's necessary to make the audience feel like they're on drugs to make an effective drug movie. It's what initially turned me off of Leaving Las Vegas, only when I learned more about Hunter Thompson did that movie make more sense.
It's why I'm a big fan of Linklater's A Scanner Darkly adaptation. Jesus' Son and Scanner are about the people, the emotional disconnect and how their addiction affects them intimately while Requiem is more or less a horror movie, focusing on the physical damage and errosion of sanity.
I've found that I've come to respect Pi a lot more since my initial viewings (although I still think the same flaws exist) but I've come to dislike Requiem more and more over the years, and I only saw it once (in the theater.)
josh [email] said at 1:51 PM 07-10-2007: It's what initially turned me off of Leaving Las Vegas, only when I learned more about Hunter Thompson did that movie make more sense.
