[Murmer99]

Originally Posted by h8kurdt

and I will storm off and never come back here again.

I was going to respond to your thoughts on Woody Allen's sterile and uninspired releases from the last couple of years, as well as your insults directed towards me in great detail, but this quote is good enough for me.

No, kidding. More power to you I guess. I still think most of it pales in comparison to what he was doing from the mid 70's to the mid 80's. Of course, there are a few exceptions such as Crimes and Misdemeanors, which is excellent. Shadows and Fog is decent as is Hannah and her Sisters, but he's been quite inconsistent throughout his career and I think that'll especially be true when an artist is as prolific as Woody. Really hit or miss with me. It just so happens that he has a great number of films that mean a lot to me. He's one of my favorites not only because of that but because he's always had a personality and sense of humor that I really identified with. I think with MOST artists (notice how I capitalized "most") brilliance is a temporary thing. Woody Allen has definitely produced brilliant work, but I can also say he's directed a lot of mediocrity. I just don't feel as strongly about his recent films as I do about the older stuff. I do want to re-watch a lot of them though. He still has my respect.

Some of my favorites of all time:

Love and Death
Manhattan
Annie Hall
Zelig
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Hannah and Her Sisters
Interiors
Play It Again, Sam (didn't direct. Wrote the screenplay and starred in it)
Bananas

Worth mentioning:

Purple Rose of Cairo
Celebrity
Shadows and Fog
Sleeper
Deconstructing Harry

Yeah. I obviously meant that... as a whole, I think he's very inconsistent nowadays. I certainly agree with you that at least he's not afraid to try something new every once in a while. I don't think he does it so adequately anymore, for the most part. Match Point would be a good example though of a movie you simply wouldn't expect from him. That's admirable, even if it's just a decent movie and nothing else. I've caught an interview here and there that were somewhat recent, and the guy just doesn't seem as passionate about films as he used to be.

[evollove]

This is the big difference between old Woody and new Woody:

He always took chances. Only they used to pay off.

His eighties work is golden, classic after classic.

The whole decade starts off with STARDUST MEMORIES. Love it or hate it, it was a risky film to make.

Then there's:

MIDSUMMER
ZELIG
B DAN ROSE
PURPLE
HANNAH
RADIO
SEPT
ANOTHER WOMAN
CRIMES

(Add some seventies work, and HUSBANDS and BULLETS from the 90s, and it's pretty obvious how damn good the guy really is when he tries.)

It's hard to think of another director who banged out so many great films year after year. For a decade. At least. Amazing.

And they are all what I would call "original."

He still has good ideas: "What if we tell the same story as a comedy and then as a tragedy?"

But Old Woody would've made a great flick out of this concept. New Woody is happy enough to have come up with concept, but can't be bothered to really explore it or squeeze out the potential. I think that explains my frustration with his past two decades of crap-to-mediocre stuff.

[evollove]

And by the way, I wouldn't be so upset at the decline in quality if I didn't love his work so much, if it wasn't so important to me when I was growing up surrounded by wasps and gentiles. He used to be a hero, and it hurts when heroes fall.

[sonic sphere]

 

[demonrail666]

 

3:10 to Yuma

A solid Western but I'm never sure how seriously I can take Glenn Ford when he plays a villain; he just seems like one of those inherently likeable people. Although in fairness the movie ends up playing on that very thing. Some great dialogue, too - as you'd expect with Leonard's connection.

- "Safe! Who knows what's safe? I knew a man dropped dead from lookin' at his wife. My own grandmother fought the Indians for sixty years... then choked to death on lemon pie."

Curious to see the remake, now.

 

Super Fly

Probably the best of the Blaxploitation stuff I've seen so far.

[sonic sphere]

 

[pad_023]

 

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

 

Super Fly

Probably the best of the Blaxploitation stuff I've seen so far.

 

The Mack is better

[!@#$%!]

 

jacques tati WAS A FUCKING GENIUS

this is my 2nd monsieur hulot movie-- first i watched his holiday move (les vacances de monsieur hulot). it was hilarious. "mon oncle" however is fucking SUPREME. it's just. damn. damn damn damn. wow.

[LifeDistortion]

Not sure how many knew but Hulu was making several films from the Criterion Collection available to stream for free over the weekend. I heard about it but then didn't end up watching anything until tonight. I bypassed all the international films and ended up just watching "Jubilee" cause I had never seen it before and I wanted to see another movie featuring Nell (Columbia) Campbell.

 

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

 

jacques tati WAS A FUCKING GENIUS

this is my 2nd monsieur hulot movie-- first i watched his holiday move (les vacances de monsieur hulot). it was hilarious. "mon oncle" however is fucking SUPREME. it's just. damn. damn damn damn. wow.

Agreed. I suppose Mon Oncle is the better film but I love the overall feel of the more laid back, almost sleepy Vacances. It's a film I'd quite happily live in.

 

Speaking of France, last night watched ...

 

French Connection II

Some nice scenes showing the seediness of Marseille but overall this is one of those totally unnecessary sequels.

[!@#$%!]

@demonyo

yes vacances is delicious, and hilarious, but the social satire in mon oncle is what takes it to another level i think.

haven't seen FC2. thanks for the warning.

and did you or did you not finish the wire??

[GravitySlips]

Network

Really good film - that's the second Sidney Lumet I've seen, with Dog Day Afternoon being the other. I've enjoyed both, gonna seek out some more! The acting in Network is amazing all round.

[Rob Instigator]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

 

Super Fly

Probably the best of the Blaxploitation stuff I've seen so far.

"If you don;t have my money to me TONIGHT!!!" I love how he says this in Superfly.

[dale_gribble]

 

 

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

@demonyo

yes vacances is delicious, and hilarious, but the social satire in mon oncle is what takes it to another level i think.

haven't seen FC2. thanks for the warning.

and did you or did you not finish the wire??

I'm still only on Season 3 of the Wire. I'm slowly trying to work my way through all of them but I get stuff sent randomly from a list so it can take ages.

And agree about Mon Oncle. Vacances is less ambitious but because of that it's a perfect feet up Sunday afternoon film. I could happily kill two hours watching either, though.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

I'm still only on Season 3 of the Wire.

you gonna get confused seeing bunk and lester in 2 places at the same time!

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

you gonna get confused seeing bunk and lester in 2 places at the same time!

You mean because of Treme? Yeah, that got some getting used to.

Watched last night:

 

Summer of Sam

On paper it should be impossible to fuck this movie up but Spike Lee was totally the wrong person to make it.

 

Boys In Company C

I'm amazed Quentin Tarantino hasn't tried to remake this.

[demonrail666]

 

Tue Grit (2010)

One of the better recent Westerns. It's hard to really call this a remake as it's really just another adaptation of the same novel.

[Rob Instigator]

The cable guy is not coming to our new place until tomorrow so me and the wifey caught this on the TV last night.

 

5/10 had some very cool, crazy parts, and some odd bits, but it was better than anything else on the boob tube...