Jellyfish Eyes (2013)

[octagon]

Originally Posted by lolwut

You obviously care a lot about Spice World to get so defensive about it. Are you and darkness2918 just completely unfamiliar with Criterion's output? They usually release critically acclaimed art/indie films. Spice World will never and should never get a Criterion release. Armageddon and Jellyfish Eyes are unusual choices because they're not critically acclaimed art/indie films.

Things like Charade and The Blob are neither critically acclaimed nor indie/art films. But they're fun and they're decent enough 'time capsule' examples of their era.

Rosemary's Baby and Blow Out and The Big Chill and Tootsie are critically acclaimed and have various types of 'artsy' cred but they are also all mainstream films.

As were 12 Angry Men and Anatomy of a Murder and Godzilla and so forth and so on.

People have very selective memories when it comes to parsing Criterion's mission statement. We also tend to move the goalposts around a lot.

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by octagon

Things like Charade and The Blob are neither critically acclaimed nor indie/art films. But they're fun and they're decent enough 'time capsule' examples of their era.

Rosemary's Baby and Blow Out and The Big Chill and Tootsie are critically acclaimed and have various types of 'artsy' cred but they are also all mainstream films.

As were 12 Angry Men and Anatomy of a Murder and Godzilla and so forth and so on.

People have very selective memories when it comes to parsing Criterion's mission statement. We also tend to move the goalposts around a lot.

Charade has always been critically acclaimed, it's a classic and it's the best film Hitchcock never made.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

Charade has always been critically acclaimed, it's a classic and it's the best film Hitchcock never made.

I thought it was kind of overlooked at the time. In any event, scratch Charade and the point still stands.

And speaking of films Hitchcock never made, how could I leave The Game out of my earlier pseudo-rant.

The Game was very mainstream and not particularly good to boot but Fincher is popular and has 'auteur' cred so The Game 'deserves' to be in the collection.

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by octagon

I thought it was kind of overlooked at the time. In any event, scratch Charade and the point still stands.

And speaking of films Hitchcock never made, how could I leave The Game out of my earlier pseudo-rant.

The Game was very mainstream and not particularly good to boot but Fincher is popular and has 'auteur' cred so The Game 'deserves' to be in the collection.

I give you The Game. Idiotic film.

[DaBargainHunta]

My understanding is that Criterion wants a complete library representing the "best" from every genre. That's how Armageddon and Robocop got in there - for action. I've never seen Armageddon, but it looks stupid to me. Robocop, however, is a great example of its genre.

[bud_brigman]

Originally Posted by javi92

No doubt this will give Armageddon a run for most disliked Criterion title of all time.

So mean. I love my non-anamorphic Armageddon (Director's Cut) from Criterion.

(It's a guilty pleasure ...)

[Todd Tomorrow]

I always wonder whether they release some of their more populist and/or newer titles for extra revenue. Neither The Game nor Benjamin Button were among Finchers better films but one has a minor cult following and the other one was a brand new release. If they do that to fund the release of more obscure films than I don't have a problem with that. None of which explains Jellyfish Eyes though, apart from the reason I gave in my last post on this. I haven't seen the film, but the trailer looks pretty awful and it's not like there is much critical acclaim for it or that it has been a successful film in the US.

[buffetfroid]

This doesn't look appealing to me but I think the trailer might be telling if you require some Criterion angle. It says explicitly it's a portrait of post-Fukushima Japan, thus you are encouraged to look at it in a cultural context, which creates a stronger tie to Criterion's "mission".

[Terrorfirmer]

Never heard of this film, but I just watched the trailer and holy crap does this look awesome! I agree with some of the other posts regarding Criterion releasing this, but either way I think it looks pretty interesting.

[lolwut]

Originally Posted by MTRodaba2468

I, too, remember their releases of such notable independent art films as Tootsie, The Big Chill, It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World and Robocop.

Which is why I said "usually":

Originally Posted by lolwut

They usually release critically acclaimed art/indie films.

[SkyAntoine]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

I always wonder whether they release some of their more populist and/or newer titles for extra revenue. Neither The Game nor Benjamin Button were among Finchers better films but one has a minor cult following and the other one was a brand new release. If they do that to fund the release of more obscure films than I don't have a problem with that. None of which explains Jellyfish Eyes though, apart from the reason I gave in my last post on this. I haven't seen the film, but the trailer looks pretty awful and it's not like there is much critical acclaim for it or that it has been a successful film in the US.

If Criterion doesn't make money, then they can't release any titles. Who can fault them if they're trying to attract a new generation of viewers?
This doesn't look like my cup of tea, but if they can hit my sweet spot 75% of the time, then I'm perfectly fine with the other 25%.

[pro-bassoonist]

Jellyfish Eyes Blu-ray REVIEW



Pro-B

[darkness2918]

I plan on grabbing this title soon as I can. Its a fun little that's enjoyable for what it is.

[Oniros]

Will this be the closest we get to Criterion releasing Japanese animation? I would kill for Criterion editions of Satoshi Kon and Makoto Shinkai works not yet released on BD.

[Bandit Tajomaru]

Originally Posted by Oniros

Will this be the closest we get to Criterion releasing Japanese animation?

Lady Snowblood is based off of a Manga.

[AKNewbie]

I bought this title in the recent 50% off sale.

When it was first announced, I was indifferent. There are so many other Criterion discs which I "need" to own. But after reading the review and looking at the screen captures, I thought this might be fun. My order from Criterion arrived today, and being bored watching the Super Tuesday results roll in, I put this disc in the player. My wife displayed the same unenthusiasm (which I had initially felt about it) when I chose to play it tonight.

It was a fun watch which we both enjoyed. The supplements were also good (for me, anyway - she fell asleep; a long day at work).
Of course not all Criterion titles are for everyone, but I don't regret picking this up during the sale.

[GasmaskAvenger]

This is such an unusual pick for Criterion, i'll have to pick it up around the time the next Barnes & Noble sale rolls around along with the Lady Snowblood set.

Originally Posted by Oniros

Will this be the closest we get to Criterion releasing Japanese animation? I would kill for Criterion editions of Satoshi Kon and Makoto Shinkai works not yet released on BD.

Way, way, way back in the day, Criterion released "Akira" on LaserDisc.

I know. I'm a proud owner of the original CAV set, in which I actually won it off an eBay auction months before Funimation announced their blu-ray release.

[Swift1246]

Man, i thought "surely this movie isn't as bad as everyone says it is." Nope, its awful. I LOVE CJ7, so I thought I would like this too, as they look kind of similar. I have no explanation for why Criterion would release it. My only thought is that maybe the acquired it in a pre-sale before actually seeing the movie. I only made it about 20 minutes in before I had to turn it off.

[Scottie]

I guess I'm the only person who thought it wasn't very good, but still found it to be entertaining.

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I guess I'm the only person who thought it wasn't very good, but still found it to be entertaining.

I don't think it's wonderful, but it's certainly very entertaining. It took me back to my childhood with Pokémon and Digimon, and I find it to be pretty enjoyable and fun. It's not meant to be a masterpiece anyway.