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Comment by Gecko, Seth...brother of Richie! on March 7, 2010 at 6:55pm

Whose watchin the Oscars?

Comment by Loren Miller on March 2, 2010 at 9:08pm

Frankly, I found the soundtrack for Shutter Island unusual and off the beaten track (no pun intended). I'm a bit of a nut for classical music as it is, and I enjoyed the Ligeti especially. It may be the setup of the theater I was in, but the sound pressure levels were not excessive, and the unusual music lent itself to the overall strangeness which was going on on the screen.

Comment by TNT666 on March 2, 2010 at 7:02pm

Shutter Island:Unfortunately, a website comment revealed the punch to me. I was also warned of an ear abusing ridiculous soundtrack, which I completely agreed with.
Knowing: Upon seeing it I was annoyed with the religious content, and within a week or two this little film was completely forgotten.

Comment by Loren Miller on March 2, 2010 at 3:10pm

Shutter Island is a movie that wants to mess very seriously with your head ... and mostly because of Leonardo diCaprio's excellent performance, it does that in fair measure. Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, even Max von Sydow are more there to allow diCaprio to suck us into the twisted and twisting world of the isolated mental facility which is that island. This is a movie where, even if you assumed nothing based on the evidence given you, you can still get your head turned around [with Linda Blair nowhere to be seen!].

Highly recommended.

Comment by Emily Dietle on February 23, 2010 at 12:46pm

I was surprised to see atheist material in 'The Invention of Lying' last night. Have any of you seen this? It essentially pokes fun at the concept of god/man in the sky

Comment by Gecko, Seth...brother of Richie! on February 21, 2010 at 4:14pm

Thanks James. Im a big fan of The Criterion Collection, and I will add this one to my collection

Comment by James M. Martin on February 10, 2010 at 6:00pm

Re-reviewing Bunuel's Exterminating Angel (El Angel Extermador) in its new Criterion version convinces me more than ever that this is a great atheist masterpiece, although Bunuel himself, when asked what it meant, shrugged and said, "Nothing." There are delighful moments concerning a worthless bunch of late nite society diners at a wealthy home (Mexico City filling in for London, as Luis was emphasizing the stiff upper lip of the titled class). How on earth the filmmaker talked a Mexican producer into allowing him full throttle not only on his bizarre sexual fantasies and Surrealist urges (big "S" because while many younger film critics today discuss this movie or that as being "surreal," they have no idea what they are talking about): sheep straying from the kitchen to the huge drawing room where about 20 couples in full dining gear are trapped by a mysterious force only to break down, like the boys in Lord of the Flies, into bestial behavior, all their decorum cast aside; a physician who argues with a believer (pointing up science and reason vs. superstition), and a lot of other scenes that delight, amuse, and astonish. This one is ****.

And for the first time, you can actually read the English subtitles; plus, the "extras" have a tour of Bunuel in memories, places he haunted on both sides of the Atlantic, e.g. his beloved Toledo; discussing his strange relationships with Dali and Lorca, who were lovers; etc., all conducted by Juan Luis Bunuel and Jean Claude Carriere, his son and collaborator respectively.

Comment by Gecko, Seth...brother of Richie! on January 16, 2010 at 9:25pm

@ Jeff, I personally Wells could definitely deliver the goods. He was however much smarter than the Hollywood moguls of the time and was an enemy of Hearst. I think his ego wouldn't allow much bowing down to the powers that be.
While John Fords ego and macho facade would never let him embrace the term artist in reference to his own work, Wells deeply embraced it and would not bend to the non artistic powers. What a waste. He was a visionary film maker, twenty years ahead of his time. His self destruction is well stated by James.( And perhaps a thread to artistic self destruction would be interesting as it is so prevalent)

Comment by James M. Martin on December 4, 2009 at 4:53pm

@Sydni: Orson was a legend by the time I entered film school at UCLA, a semester behind Jim Morrison and his retinue, most of whom of course became the doors, and F. F. Coppola had just entered a feature film as his thesis -- a tough act to follow.) I recall seeing Touch of Evil for the first time in a Saturday morning kid's show, all chopped up as it turns out, but it made me want to make movies.

Welles was a sad case. A genius too big for his britches, just like Kane. This was a man who started dinner with a quart of Muscadet as a chaser for a dozen or two (that's 12-24) oysters on the half shell...and then proceeded to the chateaubriand, soup, the sides, &c., a new fifth of wine with each of six to eight courses. The man was self-destructive by the end of his career. But he was a bon vivant, international superstar, and cult idol after that film noir.

It got to the point that producers in the U.S. would not bank him and he was too big to move and thus could not get the big budget cameos and such that financed his low budget works of extraordinary genius: Chimes at Midnight, The Trial, and Confidential Report (alternately Mister Arkadin) among the better ones.

I will have to forgive him his being a Taurus. ;-)

Comment by James M. Martin on December 4, 2009 at 4:41pm

I found the following member-generated review of The Man From Earth at Netflix and thought I might share (I will be seeing the film -- finally!) this week or next:

5.0 Stars
Every once in a while, it pays to just sit back and enjoy a movie without mindless action and special effects. Man from Earth more then makes up for this with a great story exploring the possibility of a prehistoric man surviving until the present time. It makes you think, question and maybe even believe. I would warn that it touches on some things that may offend devout Christians, so please watch with an open mind and remember this is entertainment so be entertained."

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