The Criterion Collection

[jw007]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm up for the challenge...

Aside from my above-listed film, Crash, which won Best Picture, here are a few other highly-regarded films that I dislike...

Rushmore
The Royal Tenenbaums
For me, the experience of watching a Wes Anderson film is like attending a party where I do not know any of the other attendees, but they all know one another and are conversing with inside jokes to one another that go over my head. For me, one of the joys of cinema is "meeting" fascinating and likeable people, so I do not like to watch a film with the awkward feeling that I get if I'm the only person who shows up at a formal event without a tie.

I felt the same way after watching Whit Stillman's Metropolitan! I feel its such an obnoxious film at times because I don't understand this "language" the characters in the film created. It's all one big inside "scene" where everyone knows each other but I still have no idea what these "intellectuals" are saying. Of course I ended up buying this on Blu-ray, but I still need to figure that one out. Have you also been irked by Metropolitan as well, Owl?

[ccg1978]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

okay, great.. NOW this is interesting. "Rosebud" is going over my head, though.. can you elaborate? of course I know the reference, but w/ regard to TWBB, what am I missing?

regarding Wes Anderson, I squirm when I see people pining for "The Life Aquatic" to get a Criterion blu-ray release. I really liked his first 3 films, especially the two you mention, but c'mon... the whimsy has got to stop somewhere. you can add "Moonrise Kingdom" to my list of highly regarded movies that I could not stomach.

Ha, Moonrise is probably my favorite Wes film!

[bwdowiak]

Oh.. the film "Chicago," (shot in Toronto) that celebrates with song and dance the murder of a woman's husband and her getting away with it is another doozy.. a heap of garbage.. Best Picture winner, though.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

okay, great.. NOW this is interesting. "Rosebud" is going over my head, though.. can you elaborate? of course I know the reference, but w/ regard to TWBB, what am I missing?

Both films address the subject of entrepreneurial types coming to terms with the world around them, so There Will Be Blood made me draw a lot of parallels to Citizen Kane. There's just something about Paul Thomas Anderson films that falls flat with me, though, and I have no desire to give There Will Be Blood the repeat viewings that I might give Citizen Kane.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jw007

I felt the same way after watching Whit Stillman's Metropolitan! I feel its such an obnoxious film at times because I don't understand this "language" the characters in the film created. It's all one big inside "scene" where everyone knows each other but I still have no idea what these "intellectuals" are saying. Of course I ended up buying this on Blu-ray, but I still need to figure that one out. Have you also been irked by Metropolitan as well, Owl?

To my discredit, I've never seen a Whit Stillman film. Mostly because my limited knowledge of these movies gives me the same perception that you've expressed above. I feel the same way about a lot of Woody Allen films. They're not bad movies, and, in fact, they're often great movies, but the culture and the conversations just do not strike a chord with me.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Both films address the subject of entrepreneurial types coming to terms with the world around them, so There Will Be Blood made me draw a lot of parallels to Citizen Kane. There's just something about Paul Thomas Anderson films that falls flat with me, though, and I have no desire to give There Will Be Blood the repeat viewings that I might give Citizen Kane.

Okay. Fair enough. I do see the comparison. However, TWBB is more about an unscrupulous, ruthless business man.. a character driven movie that, IMO, has more in common with a film like "Raging Bull" than it does with Kane. Kane is probably BEST described as you put it - an entrepreneurial type coming to terms with the world around him. I don't think that BEST describes TWBB.

I really like PTA because there are not many true auteurs working these days, but "The Master" lacked a story (was great to look at though!) as for TWBB - I'm all for it! It's greatness, however, is debatably more so a result of Daniel Day Lewis than it is PTA.

[shortmartin]

slumdog millionaire

[shortmartin]

just looking at the flicks that won best picture, I don't hold in high regard, or in my view they are seriously flawed in one way or another . . .

dances with wolves
forrest gump
braveheart
shakespeare in love
beautiful mind
chicago
million dollar baby
crash
slumdog millionaire

more than half of the winners in recent years are to me 'bad' movies, or forgettable, or flawed. and I haven't even seen a couple of the others (e.g., hurt locker, king's speech)

anyways, just my two cents.

[yhzmr]

I think it's time to revive the Unpopular Movie Opinions thread.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

Abdrewes and Great Owl - I'd be more interested in hearing which highly regarded films you dislike. Tyler Perry films and horror retreads are low hanging fruit, no?

Here's 4 that I thought were absolute garbage for reasons which I will spare everyone who is here wanting to talk about Criterion films:

Gone Baby Gone
Drag Me To Hell
Being John Malkovich
High Fidelity

I just revisited A Beautiful Mind (it won best picture) and boy! that film really isn't all that good.

Its a Wonderful Life: the reason so few people are interested in B&W films is because they fear they will be similar to this piece of corn-fed schmaltz.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane: how this gets mentioned alongside Psycho as a sixties classic, I'll never know: it's pure camp.

Life is Beautiful: like we all needed quirk to make a story about the holocaust palatable.

Empire of the Sun: far and away Spielberg's worst.

Jurassic Park: Spielberg must've decided one day that "audiences don't like to think during a science fiction film", so he made this nonstop roller coaster filled with one dimensional characters.

All of the Harry Potter films sans the third.

As for very unpopular opinions: I like Brian DePalma's Rear Window rip-off, Body Double more than Rear Window.

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I thoroughly enjoyed this one...



Fritz Lang's Ministry of Fear has never received the same accolades that have been bestowed upon his standout films, like Metropolis, M, or The Big Heat, but this 1944 wartime thriller is an immensely engaging work that showcases the director's talent for utilizing uncanny angles, frames, and darkness to define characters. The shadows in Ministry of Fear have a tangible presence that makes them characters in their own right, and the experience of watching this movie can best be described as a ride through the most twisted gothic film noir funhouse in the world. The Criterion Collection has a reputation for creating cover art that perfectly matches the respective films, and Ministry of Fear is a standout example.

Ministry of Fear loosely echoes the "wrong man" premise of Hitchcock's Saboteur, but coats it with an additional layer of sinister abstraction. This film opens with Stephen Neale, played by Ray Milland, watching a ticking clock as he observes his final moments in a mental asylum for reasons that become apparent later in the story. Little does Neale realize that he is exiting the mental asylum only to enter a larger grand scale asylum in the form of London under the Nazi threat. Lang's piecemeal plot revelations place us in Neale's shoes for the remainder of the film as we visit carnivals, seances, dark alleys, and darker new acquaintances. Marjorie Reynolds figures into the equation as one of the most strikingly breathtaking blondes of 1940s cinema, and her character commands adoration during her every moment on the screen, even if we are unsure about whether she is a precious ally to Neale, a femme fatale, or both.

I had a blast watching Ministry of Fear for the first time last night. Ministry of Fear is not a horror story, but it does have a haunted house vibe that makes it the perfect October film. It's impossible, in fact, not to think of a vampire when watching a Scotland Yard official ascend a flight of stairs to a building roof during one pivotal scene.

Fritz Lang's shadows look marvelous on this Criterion Blu-ray, although the film shows its age at times. The only supplement is a fast-paced and highly informative interview with historian Joe McElhaney, who guides us through the differences between this adaptation and the Graham Greene source novel while explaining the film's place in Lang's canon.

Glad you liked it!

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

As for very unpopular opinions: I like Brian DePalma's Rear Window rip-off, Body Double more than Rear Window.

[Abdrewes]

Oh yeah, I also think (Criterion's very own) Danny Boyle's 127 Hours is I'll conceived in every possible way. Rule number 1: be interested in the story you're telling or don't make it at all.

[joie]

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

You couldn't smell the stale perfume? A couple guys on the commentary track really enjoyed it.

[shortmartin]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I just revisited A Beautiful Mind (it won best picture) and boy! that film really isn't all that good.

Its a Wonderful Life: the reason so few people are interested in B&W films is because they fear they will be similar to this piece of corn-fed schmaltz.

What Ever Happened to Mary Jane: how this gets mentioned alongside Psycho as a sixties classic, I'll never know: it's pure camp.

Life is Beautiful: like we all needed quirk to make a story about the holocaust palatable.

Empire of the Sun: far and away Spielberg's worst.

Jurassic Park: Spielberg must've decided one day that "audiences don't like to think during a science fiction film", so he made this nonstop roller coaster filled with one dimensional characters.

All of the Harry Potter films sans the third.

As for very unpopular opinions: I like Brian DePalma's Rear Window rip-off, Body Double more than Rear Window.

very well put, I agree with you on a lot of these, except I love Jurassic Park, the kid in me does.

And isn't it Baby Jane, not Mary Jane? Don't get me wrong, a sixties era film Whatever Happened to Mary Jane would also be interesting.

that said, Bette Davis gives an intense, riveting performance in my view

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

As for very unpopular opinions: I like Brian DePalma's Rear Window rip-off, Body Double more than Rear Window.

I just threw up in my mouth.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

I like Rear Window very much, but DePalma's my boy! Be thankful I didn't say I liked Obsession more than Vertigo. Now THAT would be crazy!

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by shortmartin

And isn't it Baby Jane, not Mary Jane? Don't get me wrong, a sixties era film Whatever Happened to Mary Jane would also be interesting.

that said, Bette Davis gives an intense, riveting performance in my view

Well, I must be in the mood to see Woodstock.

[shortmartin]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Well, I must be in the mood to see Woodstock.

I love the split screen editing in Woodstock - I think it was Scorsese's hand in there, as assistant director or editor, perhaps.

Just read your review of Gravity - nice work, makes me even more pumped to see it this Friday.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by shortmartin

I love the split screen editing in Woodstock - I think it was Scorsese's hand in there, as assistant director or editor, perhaps.

Just read your review of Gravity - nice work, makes me even more pumped to see it this Friday.

Thank your Martin! I was kind of low on plot synopsis this time because I wanted all readers to find out what happens for themselves. I will be seeing it tonight for the third time and I wholly expect to love it even more than I already do.