Weekend roundup and the curious case of my relationship to David Fincher

[goddessdster]

Comments

[irisbleufic]

I adored Zodiac. Creepy, quirky, and curiously funny all at once!

[goddessdster]

One of the elements of Zodiac I can appreicate (once I remembered I'd seen it!) was the subtlety of it. He could have gone all out and manipulated the hell out of known events to make it a completely different film. Instead, Fincher focused on the people on the periphery of the Zodiac killings and how they were affected.

[lynnez59]

There are very few films that give me that feeling...of being lost in the story. TV shows I tend to get wrapped up more in -- i think because I love watching the slow progession of character acrhs (see Wesley from "Angel"). But I do like films that are more thinking than feel good.

I think the one film I can watch and find new things to think about each time is "Oldboy" which is a Korean film and not for everyone. It's one of those films I was hesitant to see because of things I had heard, but also very curious about. It's grotesque in many ways, more in subject matter than visually, but is quite beautifully filmed. and the music is gorgeous.

I have seen "Seven" and "zodiac" and I agree that while good neither really left me wanting to watch and look for more things, more depth.

[goddessdster]

I love Oldboy! And it is creepy, but effectively so.

I think you're right, and what I'm missing in Fincher's films is depth. I call it resonance, because none of his stuff seems to strike that chord within that vibrates through me. But a lot of what he films are superficial events given the illusion of depth, but entirely lacking in it, in my opinion.

TV shows have the advantage of seasonal arcs to allow for character development, while most movies have to rely on montages or singular events causing dramatic shifts, and we - as viewers - have to suspend even more disbelief to accept this.

[mikes_grrl]

This is interesting to me; I'm not in the film industry, and while I refer to myself as a film geek, I think that geekiness stalled right about The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. So many films come out and I am just not that interested, unless I am a fangirl of the characters already from some other medium.

I never saw all of Seven and thought I was so LAME for skipping out halfway through. Yes, the gore was an issue for me -- I admit, I'm squimish -- but I just wasn't interested. Everyone was so enthralled with the story and while I love the actors in the movie, I could not get into it. It was clever and technically well done (as far as my inexperienced eye can tell) but...eh. So I am very encouraged that I'm not the ONLY one who was unimpressed with it, because really I thought something was broken with me.

Buttons is one I'm expecting to catch at the dollar theater; it looks interesting, but it not enough to drag me in at full ticket cost.

[goddessdster]

You are not alone. We should form a support group. :)

[aeniron]

1. In regards to seven, I too,..found it very hard to feel moved by Gwynneth Paltrows head being cut off, cause...like...who can tell the difference before? (yes that was wrong and yes I said it)
2. I want to see Benjamin Button MAINLY because it was shot in NOLA and I want to see what sort of job they did. I like things that remind me of why I still live here.
3. What is this Travolta movie?
4.Yes, brad Pitt is now on my list of awesome.

[goddessdster]

1. Ditto. She was so whiny and depressed. But I think she was supposed to be, so...
2. They did some lovely work with the locations they chose. And I liked that not everyone lived in the French Quarter, as if that is the only historic and interesting place to live in NOLA.
3. A Love Song for Bobby Long. See it for the locations, the accurate way people are shown just kind of lazing through life (a very NOLA trait), the very southern feel of it. Unfortunately, this means you have to see lots and lots of John Travolta.
4. Have you seen the houses? They are extraordinary!

[aeniron]

have you ever read the book? love song for bobby long?
yes!!! I want one of those houses!!

[goddessdster]

I didn't read it, but I remember it from B&N when the movie came out. I know the plot was slightly different, though.

[fiareynne]

I spent so much time trying to ignore the brats behind me who wouldn't stop complaining about the length of the film, I'm surprised I retained any of it. I enjoyed it, but ultimately Jim Carrey's "Yes Man" had more impact on me and the way I live my life.

[goddessdster]

I don't think there's a formula for what should impact us and what shouldn't, though high brow events, such as the Oscars, try to tell us otherwise. I personally love Bring It On and its message of being proud of your own work well done, regardless of whether it's the best or not. But I also enjoy the kickiness of it and the Sleater Kinney reference. All the way trough Buttons, I kept feeling like someone was trying to make the movie that Forest Gump wanted to be.

[dr_tectonic]

I can recognize that it was effectively crafted, but Seven seriously made me want brain bleach.

[goddessdster]

Possibly it is Fincher's "effective crafting" that turns me off. It's almost as if there is no passion (through which mistakes are made, but the emotion of the film is easily attainable), and that is what keeps me from connecting with his films.