The Films of 2004-2005

Discussions of specific films and franchises.
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
HerrSchreck
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:46 am

The Films of 2004-2005

#1 Post by HerrSchreck » Mon Jun 05, 2006 1:10 am

Over on the City Symphony thread I remembered, via searching my brain for DAYBREAK EXPRESS, this awful awful film (a comment on the personal story of the people therein, not related to filmmaking technique), which is basically a standard follow-em-around-w camera reality show style documentary-- interesting in that the access was complete to these people's lives, and granted over a period of years covering the glory days-to-collapse of this relationship between two gay guys who bring a girl into the relationship deciding to have children too. Then it all melts down.

Just unbelievably excruciating. Painful in nuclear terms. Me & my girlfriend were invited to a pre-screening premeire because my girlfriend knows the girl, thru her job, in the film who becomes the third wheel in the guys relationship. Amazing balls that these three then went on tour w the film thru the festival circuit doing q&a w the audience, etc. Anybody see this film?

Three of Hearts

User avatar
John Cope
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:40 pm
Location: where the simulacrum is true

#2 Post by John Cope » Mon Jun 05, 2006 4:08 am

Haven't seen this but based on your description in the other thread it sounds like it has an ending which functions similar to the end of Araki's Doom Generation. That film, as you may remember, also deals with a threesome of sorts--though admittedly far less delineated in out right terms than the one here. At the end, only a hetero couple remains. The violence done to reduce it to this suggests the brutal end of societal indulgence as Araki sees it. The hetero couple is the socially acceptable one but the couple we are left with could not be any less right for one another, lacking all vitality and purpose and any real affection.

Also, had to add that at first I thought this was a thread dedicated to that Billy Baldwin movie. Have to admit that I was a little disappointed.

User avatar
toiletduck!
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 5:43 pm
Location: The 'Go
Contact:

#3 Post by toiletduck! » Fri Jul 21, 2006 3:18 pm

Anybody had the pleasure of seeing this Icelandic beauty yet? Dare I say it aloud? Gunnarsson has given me everything I hoped for in Lord of the Rings and did not receive -- and in well under the 3 hour Kiwi standard.

Stellan Skarsgard is pitch perfect as Hrothgar, a king ever proud and steely whose fear and regret ooze out in the situations he denies them most (and should thus most expect them): laughter, drunken celebration, righteous indignation. Gerard Butler quite simply seems to fill the role of rugged pretty-boy with sword, but it's at least nice to hear him have a chance to embrace his accent, and the man has definite shades of hero underlying. But it's Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson who gives perhaps the most surprising performance as Grendel. Purists may cringe at the the route the filmmakers have taken in portraying Grendel, but I can't shake Sigurasson's performance outta my skull -- the emotional complexity derived from such simple motivations is to be lauded.

Another obvious character is Iceland its-majestic-self. Granted, it would be hard to make these landscapes NOT look beautiful, but Jan Kiesser (he of Fright Night fame, of all things!) is able to infuse them with the danger (or is it desolation?) that shifts below the surface. It also enables Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson's score, which could be accused of being typical Guys With Swords Adrenal-Rama, but seems to fit a land this primed with stoicism.

And it's funny! Did I mention that it's funny? Andrew Rai Berzins' script is one of the best experiments: at once subtle, with dialogue that rides that thin line between classical and contemporary, and not so subtle, with every actor assuming their natural accent (and, jesus, are there a lot of accents on display).

This, my friends, this is a proper epic, even if the running time suggests otherwise.

Side note: I only had a basic knowledge of the original tale going in, but there were definitely some changes made, including an entire (quite large) subplot involving Sarah Polley as a Dane witch. I did hear a couple of complaints as I was leaving about not staying true to the story, so if you're one of "those people", you should prolly be forewarned.

-Toilet Dcuk

User avatar
Antoine Doinel
Joined: Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:22 pm
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Contact:

#4 Post by Antoine Doinel » Fri Jul 21, 2006 4:33 pm

This is available on DVD via Amazon.ca: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B000F4P ... d&v=glance

User avatar
toiletduck!
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 5:43 pm
Location: The 'Go
Contact:

#5 Post by toiletduck! » Fri Jul 21, 2006 5:23 pm

Well, shitballs, that snuck up on me. Thanks for the heads up, Antoine!

-Toilet Dcuk

User avatar
Antoine Doinel
Joined: Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:22 pm
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Contact:

#6 Post by Antoine Doinel » Fri Jul 21, 2006 9:59 pm

No problem :)

User avatar
Daze
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2006 6:23 pm
Location: Austin, TX, USA

#7 Post by Daze » Tue Sep 05, 2006 2:57 pm

A 45-minute adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft story, produced by enthusiastic Lovecraft fans.
The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society presents its all new silent film of The Call of Cthulhu. The famed story is brought richly to life in the style of a classic 1920s silent movie, with a haunting original symphonic score. Using the "Mythoscope" process — a mix of modern and vintage techniques, the HPLHS has worked to create the most authentic and faithful screen adaptation of a Lovecraft story yet attempted.
It's available on DVD direct from HPLHS.

To be honest, I had low expectations for this movie. But I was wrong -- it's outstanding. Highly recommended.

User avatar
Fletch F. Fletch
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:54 pm
Location: Provo, Utah

#8 Post by Fletch F. Fletch » Tue Sep 05, 2006 4:17 pm

Daze wrote:To be honest, I had low expectations for this movie. But I was wrong -- it's outstanding. Highly recommended.
Yeah, I thought this was great as well. A loving homage to both Lovecraft and to silent film insomuch that it actually looks and feels like it was shot in the 1920s. I also thought that it was one of the most faithful Lovecraft adaptations. Definitely worth picking up if you're a fan of the man and his work.

User avatar
Cosmic Bus
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 10:12 pm
Location: Seattle, WA
Contact:

#9 Post by Cosmic Bus » Mon Sep 11, 2006 10:31 pm

Thoroughly enjoyed watching this tonight... so much that I may just have to order one of their lovely posters, as well.

I'm curious about Edward Martin's Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath now. It's a much lower-budget affair than Cthulhu, using (mostly) still artwork with voiceover and music, but it certainly sounds interesting. There's a teaser online; rather old, admittedly, but something to see nonetheless. The DVD is available directly from Guerrilla Productions and has their own short film rendition of the Call of Cthulhu as an extra (along with a fair amount of other things).

SalParadise
Joined: Sun Apr 09, 2006 2:39 pm
Location: Hangzhou

#10 Post by SalParadise » Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:00 am

I finally watched this today; the US version. Well done.

Originally I was keen to watch the original French version with subtitles, but I figured that wasn't going to be an easy task.

But after watching the movie, I found out that the French version had talking penguins! ew!

Although I would still be interested in hearing the original score.

I wonder whether the director worked directly with Alex Wurman, or not at all.

I also wonder how this film would work with music and no narration, surely not bad.

User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

#11 Post by MichaelB » Mon Nov 20, 2006 7:37 am

Yes, I heard that this is one of the rare instances where the American soundtrack is a good deal less nauseatingly sentimental than the original - which certainly isn't what one would normally expect.

(And I write as someone who used to make a point of vetting all Miramax trailers for foreign-language films before inflicting them on the patrons of the cinema I used to run. Their toe-curlingly patronising voiceovers, reducing complex and subtle films like Raise the Red Lantern to the level of a moronic daytime soap opera, often served to put people off something they might otherwise have loved!)

User avatar
emcflat
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2005 7:12 pm
Location: Chicago
Contact:

#12 Post by emcflat » Wed May 09, 2007 12:11 pm

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Could not find a thread. I rented the DVD on a whim and found the movie to be at worst very interesting and at best pretty complex and (gulp) "timely."

Christian Bale is the main highlight, as I expected, and the movie again showcases his ability and seeming eagerness to immerse himself in difficult roles. As a debut for Ayer as a director, it's certainly passable. I questioned his writing more often ("That's a serious breach of the homie code, dawg!")

If his performance in "Rescue Dawn" holds any appeal (and I'm sure it will,) I may have to agree with Herzog that Bale is one of the best of his generation.
Last edited by emcflat on Wed May 09, 2007 2:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Fletch F. Fletch
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:54 pm
Location: Provo, Utah

#13 Post by Fletch F. Fletch » Wed May 09, 2007 1:19 pm

I dunno. I found this film hopelessly derivative of Ayer's screenplay for Training Day with a dash of Taxi Driver. Bale was good (as always) but he was let down by the weak material, I felt. It's time for Ayer to move and try a different formula/mine different material.

User avatar
souvenir
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:20 pm

#14 Post by souvenir » Sun May 13, 2007 12:14 am

I thought Harsh Times was interesting, but ultimately too long. The Iraq war flashbacks seemed to be a convenient excuse for the Bale character's psychosis. We're never told what he was like before his military duty and whether it tipped him into crazyland or if he was already there. I thought Ayer struggled with cramming so much into Bale, making him too much and having nothing really left for the other characters. Bale, as always, was riveting and incredible though, adding yet another unique performance to his impressive career. He's the only real reason to see the movie, but he makes it worth watching.

User avatar
Antoine Doinel
Joined: Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:22 pm
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Contact:

#15 Post by Antoine Doinel » Mon Jun 11, 2007 10:35 pm

Haven't heard much about this but it's a documentary on the life on the awesome Danny Trejo. Here's the trailer.

Has anyone seen this?

flyonthewall2983
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:31 pm
Location: Indiana
Contact:

#16 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Wed Jun 13, 2007 7:21 pm

It looks fascinating. And you are correct, he is awesome. I thought him and Diamond Dallas Page were quite the good pair in The Devil's Rejects.

User avatar
FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
Location: Greenwich Village

Re: The Films of 2004-2005

#17 Post by FrauBlucher » Fri Sep 16, 2022 5:04 pm

I'm bumping this thread to see if I can get thoughts on The Machinist. Another one of those Christian Bale physically altering roles.

User avatar
Quote Perf Unquote
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2022 2:57 pm

Re: The Films of 2004-2005

#18 Post by Quote Perf Unquote » Sat Sep 17, 2022 1:06 am

FrauBlucher wrote:
Fri Sep 16, 2022 5:04 pm
I'm bumping this thread to see if I can get thoughts on The Machinist. Another one of those Christian Bale physically altering roles.
I worked in a machine shop for five years. There wasn't a single day that place wasn't lit up like the sun, from corner to corner, not a single shadow anywhere, for any number of reasons, foremost among them accuracy and safety. Creative leeway notwithstanding, the lack of light in Bale's shop was absurd.

I've never understood the simpleminded literalness of making horror films visibly dark. The Shining, The Exorcist are both brightly lit, and much more frightening for it. Very few directors can actually drench the image in blackness and still present a clear, meaningful image, a terrifying image in the case of horror films. Lynch, Dreyer... one or two others.

Post Reply