The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Lepidopterous]

Monsieur Lazhar

Everyone thinks we're traumatized by Martine's suicide, but it's the adults who are really.

A couple weeks ago on a Wednesday night, I couldn't sleep for whatever reason, so I put on a movie I had been planning to get to for a while. The film is about a man who has to substitute for a teacher that committed suicide in her 6th grade classroom, and how he and the children must come to terms with this, all while privately dealing with a heavy struggle of his own. This premise fascinated me, but I could never suspect that a tragic and unfathomable event would take place two short days following my viewing, giving the film a whole new meaning.

The film explores psychological trauma on an individual and group level, in both children and adults. It does a great job highlighting the complexity of behavior as it exists in the real world. Everyone wants to handle things differently while each individual is uniquely affected. As a new substitute teacher, Bachir Lazhar is an outsider to the entire situation, but should that alone give his reasoning more weight or less? As an immigrant with his own hidden struggles, Bachir is forced to learn about himself as he gets to know his students, which helps him connect with them and their community. It is a delight to see the children and teacher grow from each other throughout the film. The director brings great performances out of these kids, particularly those playing Alice and Simon.

Another issue brought to attention is how a society is supposed to function after a tragedy. What is the role of the parent, the child, the teacher, the therapist, the principal, or the friend? All of a sudden, it is not about right or wrong, but about what is appropriate or necessary. In reality, it is a very complex situation, and the film treats it as such. Some tragedies can never be fully comprehended. Nonetheless, Monsieur Lazhar is well executed on the subject matter and presents an intriguing window into the subtle nature of societal healing.

4/5

[Lepidopterous]

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Strong animals know when your hearts are weak.

As a watcher of many a film, one can argue it is easy to get desensitized to the formulas of mainstream entertainment. This is why I have been dipping into the TV world lately, in this desperate search for an engrossing watch. Fortunately, I can say that for the first time all year, a film has legitimately blown me away.

Beasts of the Southern Wild puts you in the shoes of Hushpuppy, a tough little six-year-old girl living a primitive lifestyle with insight beyond her age. The director effortlessly blends fiction and reality by incorporating folklore into the storytelling. However, in no way is it trying to say that the right imagination can overcome anything. Rather, the film is very real—real struggles, real lessons, and all shot documentary style, with handheld cinematography and beautiful grain/noise. It is amazing how the film's mythical side reminds us that we are looking through a child's eyes while never disrupting the realism.

A good chunk of the film

[Show spoiler](the whole last third)

had me in tears. It may be tailored for adults but it will teach kids to appreciate life and be strong. It is poetic, creative, thoroughly absorbing, and has the perfect soundtrack. And the natural performances bring it to a whole different level.

5/5

[jvince]

Bambi (1942)
dir. James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, David Hand, Graham Heid, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Norman Wright

The Good: Top-notch animation; probably one of the most gorgeous and artistic ones ever made. Endearing characters. Beautiful, powerful score. Excellent storytelling despite minimal dialogue. One of those cartoons that both kids and adults will love.

The Bad: Final act is kind of rushed.

The Bottom Line: Bambi is one of Disney's crowning achievements and a timeless classic for all ages. A must-see.

[Member-244966]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Welcome, and I agree with you about the end.

This site provides an easy way to do spoilers tags. Quote my post and you will see how it works. Or you can just click this.

[Show spoiler]Use the icon on the toolbar for you selected text.

[Show spoiler]Thanks

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Steve46

The Birds (1963)
Horror, Thriller, 119 minutes
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Starring Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Jessica Tandy and Suzanne Pleshette

The recent release of The Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection on Blu-ray prompted me to revisit some of the best films in the set. I have always liked The Birds because I saw it as a child and it has stuck with me over the years. It's interesting viewing such films again with a critical eye, rather than as a young boy who just needed to be entertained.

There are frequent spoilers ahead, so stop reading now if you haven't yet seen the film.

[Show spoiler]Like Psycho, The Birds starts off with a light tone, as Hitchcock leads us to believe that the film will develop into a romantic comedy. I admire this approach because it's realistic. People would be acting normally a few days before a disaster or a terrifying turn of events. So you can expect to see the main characters introduced at the start of the film, and you'll see them flirt and develop a mutual attraction. This paves the way for Melanie Daniels' (Tippi Hedren) subsequent actions as she drives to Bodega Bay to deliver a gift for Mitch Brenner's (Rod Taylor) daughter, Cathy (Veronica Cartwright).

If Hitchcock had decided to make the entire film a romantic comedy, I'm sure he would have done a good job. There's a depth present that doesn't exist in most examples from that genre. The dialogue gives us important insights into the characters, as well as supplying some of the exposition for the basic plot. We learn that Melanie is rich and works several jobs on different days of the week. She seems to have a wild, impulsive streak, and that fits her actions when she decides to visit Mitch. She also lies often, although never in a malicious way. Mitch is playful when he interacts with Melanie, but we soon learn that he is dependable in a crisis.

Melanie is also resourceful, and we see her charter a boat and use it to approach Mitch's house unobserved. The first indication that the world might not be idyllic comes when Melanie is attacked by a gull as she is returning the boat. The scene is so out of place because there hasn't been any suggestion that the film will be anything but fun up to that point, and it seems all the more shocking for it.

The events begin to turn darker in tone, and the pace increases from the moment of the initial attack. Other people begin to report attacks, and we witness several instances of unusual behavior by the birds. This is exactly the kind of novel that Stephen King might write; the world is apparently normal, but one thing is out of place. What would you do if you witnessed similar behavior from birds or small animals? It's so unexpected that it can be quite frightening in places. There's no campy humor to relieve the tension like that found in many modern horror movies. Hitchcock slowly increases tension throughout the film, without ever explaining why the birds are behaving in such an odd way.

I have always enjoyed seeing what happens when events cause society to begin to break down. What lengths would you go to to keep yourself or your family safe, or to provide food when it was scarce? The story takes place over a couple of days, so there's no serious breakdown of order in The Birds, but we do see how people start to band together and take care of each other.

The film was made in 1963, so you can't expect the special effects to be as convincing as modern techniques would allow. The bird effects are a combination of puppets, machines, and a few live birds, using a blue screen to insert them into the action. The special effects earned an Oscar nomination at the time, so try to forgive the somewhat dated feel.

As usual, Hitchcock assembled a strong cast. Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren are convincing as potential romantic partners, and both give good performances as their characters encounter stressful situations. Mrs. Brenner (Jessica Tandy) is an important character too. She's reluctant to embrace Melanie's arrival and fears that her son Mitch may abandon her at some point. There's one particularly good scene in which Melanie talks to Mrs. Brenner and tries to allay her fears about the birds. You can sense some level of acceptance from Mrs. Brenner, although she can't decide whether she actually likes Melanie.

One of the best scenes occurs outside the town's school, where Annie (Suzanne Pleshette) is teaching a class. She makes the children sing, while Melanie waits outside to collect Cathy. In typical Hitchcock fashion, we see one or two birds landing behind Melanie. She's unaware of their presence until she turns and sees hundreds of them. She comes to a decision and goes inside to warn Annie of the potential problem. This leads to one of the most dramatic sequences in the film as the children leave the school.

The Birds is elevated above the level of most horror films for several reasons: The characters are real people with genuine fears, the dialogue means something, the acting is strong, and the audience is given time to absorb the danger of a situation rather than being bombarded with gory or shocking scenes. The ending (intentionally) doesn't completely resolve the story, but it leaves us with a sense of optimism.

With the exception of the song sung by the children at the school, there is no score in the entire film. It reminds me of The Mist in that way, and I think the scenes contain more tension because we make up our own minds about how to feel, rather than having the music inform us that there is danger or a scary moment approaching.

Most of the whimsical scenes happen early in The Birds. Hitchcock's cameo is impossible to miss, and when somebody whistles at Melanie, it's a reference to a TV ad in which she first caught the attention of Hitchcock. By the end of the film, you'll feel as if you have been through a grueling emotional journey. It's a journey well-worth taking. It doesn't even matter why the birds were behaving so strangely, or whether their behavior was only present in Bodega Bay, or more widespread.

As for the Blu-ray, it's a mixed bag. The DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track enhances the experience considerably. The sound of fluttering wings is particularly effective. However, the picture quality is disappointing. While some of the brighter scenes do show good detail, far too many of the shots appear soft. It appears that Tippi Hedren's close-ups were intentionally softened, in a way similar to the female characters on the original Star Trek show. As for the effects, the additional information offered by the Blu-ray transfer highlights some of the weaker shots. This is probably as good as it's going to get for a long time, and I do recommend that you upgrade, but I'm still a little disappointed.

The Film 4.5/5
PQ 3/5
AQ 4/5

Thats too bad about the PQ. I too remember sitting 1 foot away from a black & white TV as a little boy, having the holy crap scared out of myself, and loving every minute.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

Beasts of the Southern Wild

It is amazing how the film's mythical side reminds us that we are looking through a child's eyes while never disrupting the realism.

5/5

Sounds like Pan's Labrynth in that regard. You and Foggy have me pretty damn eager to see this.

[Romulus]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Strong animals know when your hearts are weak.

As a watcher of many a film, one can argue it is easy to get desensitized to the formulas of mainstream entertainment. This is why I have been dipping into the TV world lately, in this desperate search for an engrossing watch. Fortunately, I can say that for the first time all year, a film has legitimately blown me away.

Beasts of the Southern Wild puts you in the shoes of Hushpuppy, a tough little six-year-old girl living a primitive lifestyle with insight beyond her age. The director effortlessly blends fiction and reality by incorporating folklore into the storytelling. However, in no way is it trying to say that the right imagination can overcome anything. Rather, the film is very real—real struggles, real lessons, and all shot documentary style, with handheld cinematography and beautiful grain/noise. It is amazing how the film's mythical side reminds us that we are looking through a child's eyes while never disrupting the realism.

A good chunk of the film

[Show spoiler](the whole last third)

had me in tears. It may be tailored for adults but it will teach kids to appreciate life and be strong. It is poetic, creative, thoroughly absorbing, and has the perfect soundtrack. And the natural performances bring it to a whole different level.

5/5

I just watched this last week and agree overall. This is my number 1 favorite film of the year so far. I found it shocking for me personally because this type of subject matter usually turns me off... good example being Precious. I know that comparison seems odd, but the film does look at the relations between a child and adult figure. Thankfully I think the film has a wonderful fantasy and mystical feel to it. The film also kind of abandons the "cause and effect" of Hollywood films, instead opting for a more episodic structure where we capture glimpses or tiny arcs in her life. You're first paragraph of this film really hits the nail on the head. I'm glad you posted your review, this saves me trying to go back for hundreds of pages trying trying to find someone who watched. Heck, it probably would have caused me not to post for another month!!!

[Romulus]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Sounds like Pan's Labrynth in that regard. You and Foggy have me pretty damn eager to see this.

Interesting comparison... one that I think I can agree with. As DJMethod pointed out, this film has way more of a realistic tone to it. Biggest contributor to Beasts of the Southern Wild feeling different is the cinematography having the documentary handheld feel to it.

I would certainly recommend checking it out.

[Romulus]

P.S., how is everyone doing? I'm finally done with school... PERMANENTLY.

Feels good to be done, now I can focus on posting here... and my career I guess. If anyone cares, I am entering the film industry. I'm pretty excited, there's a few film sets that I will be working on coming up. Can't really disclose anything at the moment, but I'll share soon.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Romulus

Interesting comparison... one that I think I can agree with. As DJMethod pointed out, this film has way more of a realistic tone to it. Biggest contributor to Beasts of the Southern Wild feeling different is the cinematography having the documentary handheld feel to it.

I would certainly recommend checking it out.

Netflix will have it available next week, so its near the top of my list.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Romulus

now I can focus on posting here... and my career I guess.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Romulus

P.S., how is everyone doing? I'm finally done with school... PERMANENTLY.

Feels good to be done, now I can focus on posting here... and my career I guess. If anyone cares, I am entering the film industry. I'm pretty excited, there's a few film sets that I will be working on coming up. Can't really disclose anything at the moment, but I'll share soon.

I've got another 2 and a half years of Uni yet, hopefully I'll hit the ground running like you

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Netflix will have it available next week, so its near the top of my list.

I hope you enjoy it.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Romulus

P.S., how is everyone doing? I'm finally done with school... PERMANENTLY.

Feels good to be done, now I can focus on posting here... and my career I guess. If anyone cares, I am entering the film industry. I'm pretty excited, there's a few film sets that I will be working on coming up. Can't really disclose anything at the moment, but I'll share soon.

Originally Posted by Foggy

I've got another 2 and a half years of Uni yet, hopefully I'll hit the ground running like you

Aw, I'm pretty envious of all you hip young film school dudes. It's pretty awesome that you're both pursuing (what I assume are your) dream careers, and I hope they work out for you.

[Al_The_Strange]

Next greatest blind-buy: Arabian Nights

Pretty much more of the same as the other two parts of the Trilogy of Life. Oh yeah, you can expect more nudity and oddly-lifeless sex scenes.

The good news is, Arabian Nights has its share of interesting stories, easily some of the best, most interesting, and most worthwhile of the trilogy. The narrative structure still suffers some randomness, so much like the Decameron, the film felt like it lost track of itself toward the end, rambling one story into another. However, there is a baseline story of sorts that gets nicely rounded off by the conclusion, with every other story branching off of it, so it kinda works.

Standout plots will include the one story that runs for the entire picture (in which a dude looses track of his slave, spends the whole time trying to find her, but also spends some time being studly with three other chicks), one story that takes up a good chunk of the middle (in which some dude falls for a really evil chick that wants to kill him, but he's too stupid to figure it out), and various other interesting tidbits. Parts of it are totally random, and there are a few scenes that seem a little freaky (lots of homoerotic undertones going on, and a kid bathes with a grown-up ). Still, unlike Decameron and Canturbury Tales, it actually feels like the tales of Arabian Nights actually has a point or two to make, regarding love, sex, men and women in general.

What helps is that this film has a grand, exotic flair, thanks largely to the epic locations Pasolini chose to film in. With scenes shot in Yemen, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Persia, Nepal, and India, the film has some fantastic locales and beautiful imagery. Despite some herky-jerky camera-work, the film overall is distinctly exotic-looking and well-framed, with some shots that look downright great. Acting and writing are decent, save for a few cheesy parts. This production has a few cheap-looking props, but otherwise everything else looks good and authentic. Music is really nice.

4.5/5 (Entertainment: Good | Stories: Very Good | Film: Very Good)

Recommendation: Unless you have an aversion to lots of nudity and sex, then sure.

This Blu-Ray has some soft-looking spots, but is otherwise pretty decent at times. Sound quality is not bad.

PQ: 3.5/5, AQ: 4/5

[Romulus]

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

I would say that the Lord of the Rings are the Star Wars of my generation. Sure, they're completely different genres, but both are similar in that they're massive trilogies that more or less follow The Hero's Journey (monomyth) as out outlined by Jason Campbell.

Lord of the Rings might have been the very first film franchise that I fell in love with. So I was extremely eager to see how The Hobbit would turn out. Before even making it to the theater I made the decision to watch the film in 2D in 24fps... basically the standard for film. I'm not a huge fan of 3D, and the implementation of 48fps but me at unease--not to mention the reaction to 48fps/3D has been a mixed bag at best. After seeing the film, it's really a decision I don't regret making. I'm glad I didn't feel distracted by visual presentation of the film, and instead it allowed me to focus solely on the story.

What can we say about the movie? One word immediately comes to mind: slow. Which is not bad at all. What made Lord of the Rings perfect in my opinion was its balance of story and action--but it's clear as day to see that The Hobbit focuses more on story and dialogue than anything else. However, there wasn't any one point in the film where I looked down to see the time and think to myself "holy crap this is too long". This can be attributed to the strong source material that the film is based off, and it also helps that the film adds a layer of depth to the Lord of the Rings universe. Seeing the backstory to Bilbo Baggins is fascinating, and it's further by Martin Freeman's acting--I honestly don't think there could be anyone else for this role. Beyond Bilbo, it was nice to see other favorites such as Gandalf, Saruman, Elrond, Galadriel and of course--Gollum.

It didn't strike me until after the film, but it was great to see the story focus on the dwarves--who I feel are really under-represented in LOTR trilogy. There we see the kingdoms of Elves, Men, and Hobbits--but other than an abandoned Moria, there aren't many dwarven encounters. There are many dwarfs, 13 to be exact. We do get to know some dwarves better than others, but with there being so many I was actually okay with it. I haven't read the book, but there are three movies for us to get to know all of these characters.

There are few actions scenes throughout the film, but some of them are pretty incredible. I don't want to go into any spoilers, but there were some pleasant surprises for me in the film. I was actually quite shocked that some of these events weren't referenced in LOTR in one way or another. In a nutshell, there are few actions sequences to go around, but they're really good ones.

Could I recommend this movie to everyone? No, I can't. If you aren't a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings then I doubt there would be much to love about The Hobbit. It goes deeper into the lore of Middle Earth, and it is very heavy on dialogue, to the point where certain people will feel the film simply drags on for far too long. On the flipslide, big fans of Middle Earth will find much to love here if they're interested in the background for many of the events and characters in The Lord of the Rings. Lump me in with the latter, I find the film to be extremely enjoyable and I'm certainly eager to watch the next two films.

4.5/5

[Romulus]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I've got another 2 and a half years of Uni yet, hopefully I'll hit the ground running like you

One word of advice I'm sure you're well aware of: do many internships. Success in the industry is purely based on who you know, for some that can either be really discouraging or encouraging. Feel free to send me a PM if you any questions in particular.

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Aw, I'm pretty envious of all you hip young film school dudes. It's pretty awesome that you're both pursuing (what I assume are your) dream careers, and I hope they work out for you.

Thanks for the comment, I really appreciate it.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Sounds like Pan's Labrynth in that regard. You and Foggy have me pretty damn eager to see this.

It's a gem. I can see the comparison to Pan's Labyrinth. I thought of Where the Wild Things Are as I was watching it. Don't worry though, it is original and creative.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Romulus

I just watched this last week and agree overall. This is my number 1 favorite film of the year so far. I found it shocking for me personally because this type of subject matter usually turns me off... good example being Precious. I know that comparison seems odd, but the film does look at the relations between a child and adult figure. Thankfully I think the film has a wonderful fantasy and mystical feel to it. The film also kind of abandons the "cause and effect" of Hollywood films, instead opting for a more episodic structure where we capture glimpses or tiny arcs in her life. You're first paragraph of this film really hits the nail on the head. I'm glad you posted your review, this saves me trying to go back for hundreds of pages trying trying to find someone who watched. Heck, it probably would have caused me not to post for another month!!!

It does have a different structure and it works great. Thank you for the response and I am glad to see it worked for you too.

It's at my top spot as well. The Hobbit a close 2nd.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Romulus

One word of advice I'm sure you're well aware of: do many internships. Success in the industry is purely based on who you know, for some that can either be really discouraging or encouraging. Feel free to send me a PM if you any questions in particular.

Thanks man

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Romulus

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

[Show spoiler]I would say that the Lord of the Rings are the Star Wars of my generation. Sure, they're completely different genres, but both are similar in that they're massive trilogies that more or less follow The Hero's Journey (monomyth) as out outlined by Jason Campbell.

Lord of the Rings might have been the very first film franchise that I fell in love with. So I was extremely eager to see how The Hobbit would turn out. Before even making it to the theater I made the decision to watch the film in 2D in 24fps... basically the standard for film. I'm not a huge fan of 3D, and the implementation of 48fps but me at unease--not to mention the reaction to 48fps/3D has been a mixed bag at best. After seeing the film, it's really a decision I don't regret making. I'm glad I didn't feel distracted by visual presentation of the film, and instead it allowed me to focus solely on the story.

What can we say about the movie? One word immediately comes to mind: slow. Which is not bad at all. What made Lord of the Rings perfect in my opinion was its balance of story and action--but it's clear as day to see that The Hobbit focuses more on story and dialogue than anything else. However, there wasn't any one point in the film where I looked down to see the time and think to myself "holy crap this is too long". This can be attributed to the strong source material that the film is based off, and it also helps that the film adds a layer of depth to the Lord of the Rings universe. Seeing the backstory to Bilbo Baggins is fascinating, and it's further by Martin Freeman's acting--I honestly don't think there could be anyone else for this role. Beyond Bilbo, it was nice to see other favorites such as Gandalf, Saruman, Elrond, Galadriel and of course--Gollum.

It didn't strike me until after the film, but it was great to see the story focus on the dwarves--who I feel are really under-represented in LOTR trilogy. There we see the kingdoms of Elves, Men, and Hobbits--but other than an abandoned Moria, there aren't many dwarven encounters. There are many dwarfs, 13 to be exact. We do get to know some dwarves better than others, but with there being so many I was actually okay with it. I haven't read the book, but there are three movies for us to get to know all of these characters.

There are few actions scenes throughout the film, but some of them are pretty incredible. I don't want to go into any spoilers, but there were some pleasant surprises for me in the film. I was actually quite shocked that some of these events weren't referenced in LOTR in one way or another. In a nutshell, there are few actions sequences to go around, but they're really good ones.

Could I recommend this movie to everyone? No, I can't. If you aren't a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings then I doubt there would be much to love about The Hobbit. It goes deeper into the lore of Middle Earth, and it is very heavy on dialogue, to the point where certain people will feel the film simply drags on for far too long. On the flipslide, big fans of Middle Earth will find much to love here if they're interested in the background for many of the events and characters in The Lord of the Rings. Lump me in with the latter, I find the film to be extremely enjoyable and I'm certainly eager to watch the next two films.

4.5/5

Nice review. It's interesting that you see The Hobbit as an expansion on LOTR. I have always seen it the other way around. Granted LOTR is the greatest fantasy ever written or put to film, it all started with The Hobbit. I definitely recommend giving the book a read since you're fond of the franchise. Pretty quick read.

I'd give the film the same score as you. Martin Freeman plays a magnificent Bilbo, and his look is the most consistent with the LOTR casting, though technically he should be more plump. The 3D was very good. I ducked when a flaming pine cone flew at my face. I don't remember the last time I had a physical reaction to a 3D movie. Most of it was not "in your face" though.