Perfume treated the audience like they were morons--subjected them to drawn out artsy smelling scenes to constantly remind the dude could smell good. The whole film was trying to hard and couldn't pull it off. There ain't much bigger a trainwreck of a film than a movie trying to important and epic, and just coming off as being completely pedestrian. Luckily Dustin Hoffman is a badass so I can't write it off completely. Seriously, try to name a movie the Hoffman did a bad job in.
Yeah, I know you and Scott hated it. I could see why, but I didn't hate it's cloying fakeness or it's rah-rah suburbia ideology.
I guess my hate is reserved for films that think they're important and think they're saying something. (Except for Perfume which works despite its worst intentions.)
Juno was basically a John Hughes film focusing on the Ally Sheedy character from The Breakfast Club. Oh, and it pretended to be about getting pregnant, but was really about how "Hey, it's ok to be me!" (Where "me" = suburban misfit who thinks they're smart.)
Actually I didn't hate this movie. I hated Knocked Up. I just mostly rolled my eyes through Juno and didn't find any of it funny and I couldn't find it cute because it was trying too hard.
This film was just directed at somone totally different than me (namely white middle to upper class American Gen-Xer) and I just didn't feel that such a niche film deserved all the hype and attention it received. It is not a classic film, it is not even a good to decent film, it is just pop fluff in line with like Freaky Friday or High School Musical and I think people who watch it 50 years from now will be baffled as to why it won any awards.
But like the best horror films, I can't really recommend it, despite its beauty, despite its artistry - it's too bleak, too brutal, and too uncompromising, and it puts you in the place of the characters your watching, and trust me, it's not a place you want to be.not sure where you're headed here... i'm worried that this film is being dismissed for being too willfully bleak, or needlessly brutal or something. i think there's more going on than that. as a document of criminalized abortion, it's pretty essential, and it does a great job of identifying how an ideology of shame can override individual decisions-- if your culture makes something a secret, it eventually begins to feel like a secret. and the dynamic between the main character and her boyfriend is pretty nuanced. his discomfort is understandable; her contempt for the situation is as well. i think the film has a lot in common with fassbinder, if you look past stylistics. it's one of those rare cases where tragedy points to over-arching institutional dillemas through the lens
( ... )
Oh, it's great, but it hurts to watch. I can't think of a film that made me feel so horrid. I thought about my friends who had abortions and how much if fucked them up, and then I thought about how hard it must be if the shit is illegal and then I thought about Juno.
I guess what I'm saying is that the best horror films leave me feeling sick, and make me question not only what I saw, but who I am, humanity, etc. They make me wonder why I watched what I watched, and why I wanted to put myself through such hell. Hopefully (and usually) there's a smart reason in the film.
This film has that... but I guess I should re-write that. It's stunning, but really, really hard to stomach. Once I started, I couldn't stop, but I felt like shit after.
It's not something any of my female friends talk about - it's definitely one of those late-in-the-night "I'm going to tell you something" topics. But yeah, almost all of them said it bothered them and that it had emotional and physical ramifications that they weren't expecting.
4,3,2 is amazing. It's tough to watch, but amazing.
Yeah, some of them. I'm a little burned out on Matthew Barney, tho'. I watched SOOO much of his stuff. I think he's getting better as a filmmaker and is finally learning how to edit (or he can finally afford to hire good editors). My favorite is still the satyrs wresting in the limo, but there's many scenes in the Cremaster films that I still think are brilliant.
Re: Thank you.eyessealedMarch 2 2008, 18:49:00 UTC
I've only seen bits and pieces of the Cremaster films but I'm really interested in learning more about them. I need a good amount of time to sit and watch carefully and absorb. Where did you view 4,3,2?
It was playing at a theater here in NY called IFC. You can torrent it now, if it's not playing near you. I don't think it's on DVD yet, but it will be.
The Cremaster movie and Drawing Restraint 9 are all available through torrent, and they're all good copies. The early Cremasters are meant to be seen in a gallery, so they don't require your undivided attention. The later ones do, however.
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I guess my hate is reserved for films that think they're important and think they're saying something. (Except for Perfume which works despite its worst intentions.)
Juno was basically a John Hughes film focusing on the Ally Sheedy character from The Breakfast Club. Oh, and it pretended to be about getting pregnant, but was really about how "Hey, it's ok to be me!" (Where "me" = suburban misfit who thinks they're smart.)
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This film was just directed at somone totally different than me (namely white middle to upper class American Gen-Xer) and I just didn't feel that such a niche film deserved all the hype and attention it received. It is not a classic film, it is not even a good to decent film, it is just pop fluff in line with like Freaky Friday or High School Musical and I think people who watch it 50 years from now will be baffled as to why it won any awards.
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I guess what I'm saying is that the best horror films leave me feeling sick, and make me question not only what I saw, but who I am, humanity, etc. They make me wonder why I watched what I watched, and why I wanted to put myself through such hell. Hopefully (and usually) there's a smart reason in the film.
This film has that... but I guess I should re-write that. It's stunning, but really, really hard to stomach. Once I started, I couldn't stop, but I felt like shit after.
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Yeah, some of them. I'm a little burned out on Matthew Barney, tho'. I watched SOOO much of his stuff. I think he's getting better as a filmmaker and is finally learning how to edit (or he can finally afford to hire good editors). My favorite is still the satyrs wresting in the limo, but there's many scenes in the Cremaster films that I still think are brilliant.
Reply
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The Cremaster movie and Drawing Restraint 9 are all available through torrent, and they're all good copies. The early Cremasters are meant to be seen in a gallery, so they don't require your undivided attention. The later ones do, however.
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