The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

Speaking of Criterions, I went a little crazy by my standards when the Buy 2 get 1 Free sale ended up overlapping with the 50% off sale Monday night on BN.com. 3 of them came today and the other order will be here tomorrow...

The 39 Steps
Anatomy of a Murder
Being John Malkovich
The Killing
The Lady Vanishes
Sweet Smell of Success

Can't complain about 6 Criterions for $80 before tax. I'm likely not quite done with this sale yet either.

I bought The 39 Steps in the sale, and already own four of the other five you listed, so I heartily approve.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Steve46

I bought The 39 Steps in the sale, and already own four of the other five you listed, so I heartily approve.

I'll have to mention how many I end up selling after I watch them. The last time I bought anywhere near this many during a Criterion sale was during the sale at this time a year ago. I ended up selling 4 of the 7.

I think this group is fairly safe though. I'd say the only one I'm a little worried about is Being John Malkovich since I'm not sure if it will be too weird for me, but since I got 2 of the 6 for free, I can count that as one of them. Maybe it will surprise me.

I see the one you don't have is Sweet Smell of Success. I'll let you know what I think of it if you haven't seen it yet.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

I see the one you don't have is Sweet Smell of Success. I'll let you know what I think of it if you haven't seen it yet.

Thanks, I haven't seen it.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Thanks, I haven't seen it.

No problem. It'll probably be a little while since I'm fairly backed up on movies right now, but I'll try to remember.

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by Romulus

Good to hear.

I've been taking more risks with this Criterion sale, seeing as it's very difficult to view these films through the rental process.

I've been thinking about purchasing these at some point if I can (I haven't see any of these) and would love quick thoughts on them as well:

-The Double Life of Veronique
-M
-Letter Never Sent
-Yi Yi
-High and Low
-Blow Out
-Au Revoir Les Infants

I'd probably end up only getting three of these... so if you had to choose three then tell me why as well.

Veronique is my favorite Criterion (along with Three Colors). I also own Blow Out and Au revoir les enfants. Reviews are on my blog if you are interested.

Haven't seen the other four.

[jvince]

Originally Posted by Romulus

Made another blind Criterion purchase in the form of Diabolique when I found out that Shallow Grave and Seven Samurai were sold out.

Any non-spoilery impressions of the film? I've heard nothing but good things.

Diabolique is a great film. Imo, it's the second best classic film noir (The Third Man is tops, sucks the Criterion is OOP).

Originally Posted by Romulus

Good to hear.

I've been taking more risks with this Criterion sale, seeing as it's very difficult to view these films through the rental process.

I've been thinking about purchasing these at some point if I can (I haven't see any of these) and would love quick thoughts on them as well:

-The Double Life of Veronique
-M
-Letter Never Sent
-Yi Yi
-High and Low
-Blow Out
-Au Revoir Les Infants

I'd probably end up only getting three of these... so if you had to choose three then tell me why as well.

Veronique is an amazing work. I LOVE Kieślowski. And Veronique herself, Irène Jacob, is gorgeous, so that's a bonus.

Yi Yi is also a great film. It's an epic family drama, almost 3 hours long. If you like films like Tokyo Story and Still Walking (another Criterion title), you definitely gotta see Yi Yi.

High and Low was good, but for me, it wasn't as special as Veronique and Yi Yi. I liked the story though, and I liked how it was like watching a two-part crime movie. I think if it was about 30 minutes shorter, it would've been even better.

I didn't care for Au Revoir Les Infants though. It just felt boring and uneventful to me.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Romulus

Made another blind Criterion purchase in the form of Diabolique when I found out that Shallow Grave and Seven Samurai were sold out.

Any non-spoilery impressions of the film? I've heard nothing but good things.

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

Speaking of Criterions, I went a little crazy by my standards when the Buy 2 get 1 Free sale ended up overlapping with the 50% off sale Monday night on BN.com. 3 of them came today and the other order will be here tomorrow...

The 39 Steps
Anatomy of a Murder
Being John Malkovich
The Killing
The Lady Vanishes
Sweet Smell of Success

Can't complain about 6 Criterions for $80 before tax. I'm likely not quite done with this sale yet either.

Originally Posted by Romulus

Good to hear.

I've been taking more risks with this Criterion sale, seeing as it's very difficult to view these films through the rental process.

I've been thinking about purchasing these at some point if I can (I haven't see any of these) and would love quick thoughts on them as well:

-The Double Life of Veronique
-M
-Letter Never Sent
-Yi Yi
-High and Low
-Blow Out
-Au Revoir Les Infants

I'd probably end up only getting three of these... so if you had to choose three then tell me why as well.

Holy crap, I didn't realize there were sales going on!
----------
I thought "Diabolique" was awesome and classy. You should love it.

I blind-bought "Double Life of Veronique" some time ago, because everybody here loves it. It looks gorgeous, but it's one of those movies that's really slow and nothing much happens.

"M" has been a favorite of mine for a long time, especially for film noir. It's been too long since I saw it, but I remember the imagery being fantastic.

"High and Low" is great. Loved the story, loved the filming.

I loved "Blow Out" too. Loved the story, loved the filming (in particular, there's a shot at the end involving fireworks that I thought was perfect).

Haven't seen the others.

[Al_The_Strange]

Next greatest rental: "Fright Night" 1985.

It's like "Rear Window" with vampires. The film builds a lot of suspense from the standard formula of having a kid witness freaky stuff, and nobody believes him. The film goes on to produce plenty of thrills as the characters are pitted against the undead. Entertaining dialogue and situatons help keep it entertaining.

The story is generally sound. I get just a little weary of the standard nobody-believes-the-main-character setup, but the movie doesn't drag that drama out to unbearable levels. The final act delivers quite well. Characters overall are likable.

The film overall can be described as cheesy, but still good-looking. This extends to the photography, the acting and writing, the cool make-up effects, and the music.

4/5 (Entertainment: Good | Story: Pretty Good | Film: Good)

Recommendation: Sure, why not?

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by Romulus

Good to hear.

I've been taking more risks with this Criterion sale, seeing as it's very difficult to view these films through the rental process.

I've been thinking about purchasing these at some point if I can (I haven't see any of these) and would love quick thoughts on them as well:

-The Double Life of Veronique
-M
-Letter Never Sent
-Yi Yi
-High and Low
-Blow Out
-Au Revoir Les Infants

I'd probably end up only getting three of these... so if you had to choose three then tell me why as well.

M is great, i own it and its not leaving my collection

[KilloWertz]

I just checked and Diabolique is on Hulu Plus, so I'll have to give that a watch someday. A blind buy is unlikely though as I have to draw the line during this sale at some point.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by Romulus

-The Double Life of Veronique
.

did you like Mulholland Drive? you'll like this. as with Mulholland, same actress playing two different characters. what does it mean? that's up to you. I loved it. and the score was amazing!!!

[Romulus]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

@surfdude

I have seen Mulholland Drive and really enjoyed it. So basically I've now heard it's similar to Mulholland Drive with a visual style similar to Terrence Malick? Sign me up!

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by Romulus

Thanks for the replies everyone!

@surfdude

I have seen Mulholland Drive and really enjoyed it. So basically I've now heard it's similar to Mulholland Drive with a visual style similar to Terrence Malick? Sign me up!

not to mention that the blu-ray.com reviewer gave it a perfect 25/25 score!!! (5/5 in every category)

only the rare film, like Thin Red Line, has achieved that mark.

[iam1bearcat]

i got a $650 vacation bonus check today.

none of it will be going towards Criterions.

just wanted to share that.

[jvince]

City Lights (1931)
An irresistibly charming romantic comedy wherein The Tramp falls in love with a blind girl. Perfect balance of humor and sentiment. Never drags. Just flat-out wonderful. The ending is . Definitely one of the best silent films I have ever seen. New Charlie Chaplin fan here. A true classic masterpiece and a new favorite.

[Steve46]

Deep Discount is selling Brave 3D Blu-ray for $19.99 and 2D for $13.99 if anyone is interested.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i got a $650 vacation bonus check today.

none of it will be going towards Criterions.

just wanted to share that.

Good man.

[Show spoiler]btw, congrats!

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Deep Discount is selling Brave 3D Blu-ray for $19.99 and 2D for $13.99 if anyone is interested.

I actually went with the Amazon coupon option. If it does what they did with "John Carter," "Brave" 5-disc set could be as low as $17 by the time it ships.

EDIT:
I see that Amazon has it for around $27 with the coupon, which is pretty high, but I am confident that the price will drop to comfortable levels. I still predict sub-$20.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by jvince

City Lights (1931)
An irresistibly charming romantic comedy wherein The Tramp falls in love with a blind girl. Perfect balance of humor and sentiment. Never drags. Just flat-out wonderful. The ending is . Definitely one of the best silent films I have ever seen. New Charlie Chaplin fan here. A true classic masterpiece and a new favorite.

My favorite Chaplin movie, I envy you the chance of seeing it for the first time, still a wonderful movie for me even after all these years but that incredible feeling of seeing it for the first time is quite something

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

I actually went with the Amazon coupon option. If it does what they did with "John Carter," "Brave" 5-disc set could be as low as $17 by the time it ships.

EDIT:
I see that Amazon has it for around $27 with the coupon, which is pretty high, but I am confident that the price will drop to comfortable levels. I still predict sub-$20.

I ordered the 2D version for $19.97 delivered to Canada.

Canadian prices won't touch that and Amazon US charges $8 for the first item.

Just thought I would throw it out there as the order can be cancelled if someone beats the price.