The Watercooler: 9/15/08
The fall season officially got underway this weekend as Joel and Ethan Coen scored bragging rights with the #1 film at the box office. Burn After Reading’s estimated $19.4 million haul is the biggest opening ever for the Oscar winning brothers.
A late summer cold and the lack of anything else compelling in theaters conspired to keep me home this weekend, but I’m still ruminating over the terrific Coen film. My first response as the credits rolled was that it was a highly enjoyable movie, but was unlikely to inspire much in the way of conversation the way No Country For Old Men did for months last year. Turns out I was wrong. It’s a more layered film than I gave it credit for and it’s already inspired some good exchanges in the review’s comment thread.
Did anyone catch Righteous Kill or The Women? Did I miss anything?
Filed under: Watercooler
Tags: Burn After Reading, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, The Coen Brothers
Related Posts: - Chicago Film Critics Jump on the Coen Bandwagon
- Policies and Promises
- The Watercooler: 7/28/08
- The Watercooler: 11/3/08
- The Watercooler: 10/13/08
I doubt anyone saw either of those, lol. I do plan on seeing Burn After Reading sooner than later, I am thrilled you all liked it so much.
Feel better, Craig. Drink lots of fluids.
Get some bed rest, baby…
Yeah, Craig, get well soon.
My weekend? On Saturday me & the bf watched Y.P.F. (aka. Young People Fucking), which I found surprisingly entertaining. If you’re looking for something arousing or, you know, realistic, I’d look elsewhere, but it was consistently funny, well-acted, and while you could tell it was made on a low budget from the sparsity of the locations, the film looked a lot better and professional than I thought it would.
On Sunday, I watched [i]10 Things I Hate About You[/i] with a friend. I must’ve seen that movie half a dozen times when I was in high school, but I hadn’t revisited it since and I was a tad anxious. I needn’t have worried: it holds up quite well, except for a few cringeworthy moments. For a romantic comedy, it’s refreshingly feminist (at least relatively). And well, it doesn’t hurt that Heath Ledger was absolutely irresistible in it (though seeing him now, so young and vital, is more than a little strange).
Also, last Thursday, I went to the cinema to see [i]Into the Wild[/i]. I’ve been working on a blog post about it ever since, and only have a few sentences so far. I don’t know why, but I have a hard time phrasing my thoughts about it.
My weekend was one of the least-movie-filled in some time. Friday consisted of the lousy horror movie Mirrors, which I saw mostly out of obligation. Alexandre Aja knows how to set up a shock-cut to make you jump, but he has no idea how to tell a story. I mean, this is a movie in which Kiefer Sutherland has to convince his family that mirrors are out to get them, and a montage ensues in which they all paint over every reflective surface in the house. Please.
Then after that, a VHS viewing of the ’70s monster movie Spawn of the Slithis, and on Saturday the early Scorsese movie Boxcar Bertha, which was decent.
Craig I do hope you shake that nagging cold soon.
While I was most amused by the submissions above, I will venture to add my two cents. I saw two films theatrically, and both were most worthwhile.
Burn After Reading **** (Saturday evening)
August Evening **** (Friday evening)
The Coens film has been given comprehensive treatment here at LIC, both in the form of Craig’s excellent review and the incredible discourse in the comments section led by Pierre, Joel, Evan, Hedwig, Sartre and others. I join this distingished company in saying that this was a mostly riveting film that examines stupidity in its purest form. I sent out my review to my e mail network, evincing agreement with the others here.
AUGUST EVENING, which I saw alone at the Village East Cinemas is an austere and deliberate film patterened after Ozu’s masterpiece TOKYO STORY, and it chronicles the close relationship between a father-in-law and his widowed daughter-in-law who is long resistant to start anew, instead clinging the the care and concern of her in law. The Spanish-language film is deeply-moving, and and is beautifully acted by non-professionals. Craig has urged me to check this out last week.
My Region 2 DVD of UP THE YANGTZE finally arrived on Saturday and I watched it last night with my cousin, Robert McCartney. Quite simply put, this mesmerizing study of modernization and relocation is one of the very best films of 2008, and with MAN ON WIRE one of the two best documentaries of the year. Superb looks at a changing culture and of westernization, but so much more! Outstanding! **** 1.2
So, an unusually terrific brace of films this week.
I am thrilled to hear you loved Up the Yangtze Sam! I loved it too, as did most people I think.
And the LIC members should be informed that your review of the film, Nick, is the best that has been written on it within these threads. I urge all to go over to Fataculture and check it out–it was written weeks ago.
It should also be noted that Matthew Lucas at “From the Front Row” has also written a marvelous treatment of it.
I had a very good movie weekend. First, was Burn After Reading, which I quite enjoyed and am still thinking about. Although it was a little disturbing how much Brad Pitt’s character reminded me of my (very ill-suited to me) ex-husband. Made me laugh a lot, though.
Next, was Les Enfants du Paradis, which was beautiful, amazing, divine…funny, romantic, tragic…wow. Easy to see why they call it the French Gone with the Wind. And while GWtW has a special place in my heart, artistically, Children of Paradise was the better film.
Then saw the first part of Lonesome Dove, a mini-series I’m just now getting to after meaning to for 20 years. Very good.
And finally last night we watched Hot Fuzz, the movie my brother has been badgering me constantly to see since it came out, and by golly, he was right. Quite a funny little British romp, I thought.
I quite enjoyed Up the Yangtze too, Sam and Nick. Good doc.
As Sam pointed out, my meandering thoughts on BAR are on the review thread, but I liked it. Still getting my head around it, but it’s definitely more layered than one might assume.
Otherwise, I had lots of family obligations this weekend and only got around to Reprise on DVD last night, which was quite interesting. The visual style and energy of it reminded me a lot of Danny Boyle and the movie was fairly good, but the characters didn’t completely grab me (probably my mood more than the movie). Overall though, if you’re looking for something inventive and different, check it out. You won’t be disappointed.
I was a chump this weekend and didn’t make it anywhere. Out of curiousity, though, I watched the 1965 sex farce Boeing Boeing, starring Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis. (Wanted to see why this film was resurrected for the stage.)
Am pleased to report that this comedy — to my surprise — is quite entertaining and intelligent, especially considering that it emerged from the mid-60s, an era when sexist comedies dominated the scene. Although this film does not emerge unscathed in this regard, the female characters weren’t nearly as objectified as I’d feared and actually provided plenty of wit and sufficient character.
For those of you who are hesitant to embrace Jerry Lewis in general, his character here was secondary to that of Curtis, and Jerry’s zany schtick is at a minimum, in the process revealing what I consider to be his immense talent at acting.
Curtis was pretty good, too.
But what enraptured me the most was the quality of the script.
Up the Yangtze is exquisite. I saw it in May and can’t wait to watch it again.
Burn After Reading was the weekend’s main attraction, but I also led a film discussion night where I showed people a short subject documentary called City of Cranes along with Jacques Tourneur’s Night of the Demon. I highly enjoy Night of the Demon, but many of my friends were less than impressed with it and questioned my judgment by the time the night was over.
Oh well. The Demon will always be awesome.
Jennybee wins the prize for the best weekend. I love Children of Paradise…Imagine my surprise that a movie about a lovesick mime isn’t awful.
Toss in BAR and Hot Fuzz…well that’s a pretty damn good weekend if you ask me.
Jeff, what possible obligation could’ve forced you to see Mirrors?
Thank you all for the well wishes. It’s a minor cold, I only mentioned it as an excuse for my weekend laziness.
Joel, I started rewatching Reprise myself, but I got tired and went to bed early. I’m having a harder time warming up to it than I did when it was in theaters. Good Danny Boyle reference though. I agree
So Pierre, what’s the verdict? Why did they resurrect Boeing Boeing for the stage? Was it simply a matter of it being kind of good?
Phillip: Tourneur’s NIGHT OF THE DEMON a.k.a. CURSE OF THE DEMON is a near masterpiece, and it boasts one of teh few times when a studio-created monster was more horrifying than anything the imagination could conjure up! Go figure! I would have loved to be present for your film discussion night! Glad you loved UP THE YANGTZE.
Joel: I assure you that your fascinating and insightful commentaries on BAR were anything but “meandering.”
First, get well, Craig. I started feeling weird/bad yesterday morning after only getting about three hours of sleep. As the day progressed, my throat became increasingly soar and my head dizzy. Right now I think I’m either fighting off a bad cold or the beginnings of the flu. Echoing others, drink a lot of fluids. The super weapon I’ve been using is Theraflu–it does more for me than anything else. I just got up, and am not sure how I feel. In any case, I think I’ll brave it and see Burn After Reading tonight anyway. I don’t want to get anyone else sick, though.
Jennybee, that’s great about seeing Les Enfants du Paradis; as I said in last week’s Watercooler, I watched it last Sunday. A terrific, epic film.
This was a light movie weekend for me, as I actually saw several films this past week and wrote reviews for a couple of them this weekend.
Friday I watched a little film noir called Crime Wave that I had never seen before with Sterling Hayden. The commentary track has Eddie Muller and James Ellroy, so I want to listen to that soon. It was a solid picture. Hayden’s toothpick-munching cop (he can’t smoke cigarettes so that’s the next best thing) is quite a fine characterization.
Saturday, I saw Without Warning, another little unseen noir. About a mad serial killer in LA and the cops’ efforts to capture him. It was all right, though not anything too special.
Sunday, I saw Le Cercle Rouge again, mainly because Hedwig had recently seen it and wrote a fine treatment of it. I must say, after seeing it again, I’m not so sure I’d want to say with definitiveness that Le Samourai is indeed Melville’s masterpiece. Wait, he can certainly have two or more masterpieces, can’t he? In any event, this film was even better than I believed it to be. After seeing that, I went back to American black-and-white noir with Decoy, which, I must say, was pretty good trashy fun with one of the more underrated femme fatales embodied by Jean Gillie. It was fast, to the point (75 minutes), and though a certain plot point seems kind of ridiculous, I couldn’t help but enjoy the whole film nonetheless.
So, it was a rather noirish weekend.
Philip: Find new friends :)
Alexander: Sounds like you got what I have, but you didn’t get it from me!
I think I got it from my best friend’s 3-year-old nephew. Playing around with him for an hour after he told me he was sick was probably ill-advised (yuck, yuck). That and not sleeping or eating for days on end afterwards probably didn’t help matters.
We’ll get well together, Craig! :)
Feel bettter, both of you. And no sneezing this direction. Film noir seems like a good medicine for a cold/flu, though.
Alexander, that’s funny you saw Children of Paradise so recently, too. I missed last week’s Watercooler, but I agree with you about its many layers. It managed to be so many things at once, and my god, the writing. That’s one I could watch again and again and get new insights each time. The Criterion restoration (not sure if there’s another edition out there) is remarkable, too. I must own it.
I almost got to see Up the Yangtzee when I was in Boston, but missed the time. I feel like pouting now. It’s not on DVD for another couple of months.
Indeed Alexander. Little kids are miniature mobile disease factories.
Children of Paradise is one of the great humanist works of cinema, an expansive masterpiece that always leaves me floored, every single time I watch it. The writing is certainly impeccable, as is the acting and every other facet.
Up the Yangtzee is wonderful; like others, I saw it in May and am looking forward to seeing it again.
“Indeed Alexander. Little kids are miniature mobile disease factories.”
You sure have that right, Craig.
Seriously though. A lovesick mime. That just sounds awful, right? And yet…it’s one of the most profoundly beautiful films made. And made under quite trying circumstances to boot.
Also, am I the only one who is a little shocked and frightened that Burn After Reading was the #1 film this weekend?
I know people will argue for the star power, but I submit Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Leatherheads as recent examples of what star power will get you.
I don’t think it was the Oscars either.
Nevertheless, I’m suddenly inspired to quote Raising Arizona because it cheers me up: “800 leaf-tables and no chairs? You can’t sell leaf-tables and no chairs! Chairs, you got a dinette set. No chairs, you got dick!”
It you have an all-Region player I can burn you a copy of UP THE YANGTZE, Jennybee, and send it on to you. This Region 2 DVD is quite excellent.
And I join everyone else in tauting Carne’s CHILDREN OF PARADISE as one of the great masterpieces of French cinema (and world cinema for that matter).
Sam, you’re a rebel and a pirate…and I mean that in the best way.
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was just staring at Craig’s #20 post and thinking of Children of Paradise as remade by Ron Howard with Robin Williams as the lovesick mime.
This sickness is more insidious than I believed…
Aw, sweet offer, Sam. Alas, I only have a Region1 player. But I will think kind thoughts of you always.
Thanks for those kind words Jennybee, but I remain frustrated that this DVD is Region2. When I bought it on e bay I was under the impression it was Region O, which would play in all machines.
Sorry you have been under the weather too Alexander, it’s best to rest up. I am delighted at what you are now saying about LE CIRCLE ROUGE, which for me is Melville’s masterpiece without question.
Thank you, Sam. I’ll try to rest up at least some. Getting almost ten hours of sleep sure felt good.
Yes, I thought of you with regards to Le Circle Rouge when I saw it again yesterday, Sam. Melville’s treasures tend to become richer the more deeply you immerse yourself in them.
Up the Yangtze praise is bubbling up here, and I can’t pass on it. Now that I know about Y@H’s ineligibility, Yangtze may be my selection for Best Doc, even above MoW. Not for entertainment value, but for timeliness and scope. I saw it at a packed MSPIFF screening in April and have held everything to it since. For those who haven’t seen it, jennybee and others, it’s going to be on PBS in a few weeks. All doc fans should check out the POV series they’ve been doing for over 20 years. You can find some more details at my place if you’re interested.
I’d like to hear more thoughts on Into the Wild, Hedwig, if they form. That was just about this time last year and I wouldn’t mind visiting it again.
I saw BAR on Thursday and enjoyed it mostly on its superficial level. I don’t deny that there’s more to it but just haven’t found time to analyze it in that way yet. Need to catch up on the discussion at the review thread.
I saw In Search of a Midnight Kiss on Saturday and did indeed love it, mostly because of the performance by the main actor. It for some reason reminded me of both Before Sunrise and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and it worked. Great little movie that probably won’t go anywhere but deserves a hand anyway.
Didn’t make it to Righteous Kill and have heard nothing about it. My friend and I are, seriously, planning a doubleheader with it and Lakeview Terrace this weekend, just to have fun and get them over with.
Salud, Alexander.
Craig, I agree about BURN AFTER READING being a more layered film than initially meets the eye. I think it will take a second viewing for me to fully grasp all of its intricacies, but I found it a highly enjoyable film.
I also agree that I was a bit surprised by the #1 finish, but not floored. It was obviously the strongest film opening wide this weekend, but the strong marketing push for RIGHTEOUS KILL made me half-anticipate a weak first place finish for that. Maybe the movie going public has better taste than I give them credit for…then again BANGKOK DANGEROUS was the #1 film last weekend.
That’s the only new release I saw this weekend. I continued my own little Coen brothers marathon at home with INTOLERABLE CRUELTY, which I hadn’t seen since it was in theaters, and quite enjoyed it. I think it has some problems, and some of its more outlandish elements (like the elder lawman in Massey’s office) tend to get in the way of the man narrative. It was also mentioned on here not too long ago about how it felt too slick to be a Coen film, but I think that was part of the point of the Coens’ sly take on modern romantic comedies. Not one of their best, but it’s a diverting charmer.
As for UP THE YANGTZE, I liked it a lot but I would still put it 3rd in terms of 2008 documentaries, behind MAN ON WIRE and PATTI SMITH: DREAM OF LIFE. But I have made it quite well known how I feel about PATTI SMITH.
Thank you, Daniel.
I think I’ll let you and your friend brave Righteous Kill and Lakeview Terrace and let us all in on whether or not you survived such a double bill.
Sometimes inexplicable things happen in theaters and this is one of them. Whether its star power, the marketing, or just an accident I’m completely shocked that BAR did so well. My 5:30 friday matinee was packed, but I expected that with it being a Coen opening and the last matinee of the work week downtown (Portland is definitely a Coen town).
What shocked me was the applause at the end of the movie. I’ve never seen a Coen Brothers movie get applause and BAR is a more difficult film than some of their others. Obviously word of mouth is going to be interesting to factor next weekend, but I’d bet the theaters will still be hopping for them here (it opened on a shocking 25 screens here in the Portland/Vancouver area, which are practically tentpole numbers).
Glad to hear you liked Midnight Kiss, Daniel. That movie deserves all the love it can muster.
I had the same experience with the applause and laughter Joel. I live in a pretty liberal college town, but it’s still a very small town in the North Carolina mountains, so I wasn’t expecting the kind of positive reaction it got.
People surprise me every day.
“. . . am I the only one who is a little shocked and frightened that Burn After Reading was the #1 film this weekend?
A little shocked, yes — frightened, no. I think the trailers may be misleading people into thinking BAR is zanier and lighter than it really is. Whether these good numbers continue remains to be seen.
Audiences often love plots that are cleverly complicated, though. And today’s film audiences are increasingly accustomed to hard-hitting spurts of violence.
Craig, I can’t give you an answer to your question about Boeing Boeing because I didn’t see the stage version. But I think that the 1965 film version is sophisticated and has plenty of potential to be timely and relevant to current tastes.
Sounds like we’re roughly on the same page as far as IC is concerned Matthew. As I said the other day, Clooney’s spit-take is one of my favorite parts.
Pierre, I’m frightened by the box office because I’m most comfortable with the Coens as niche filmmakers. All these Oscars and box office acceptance turn my world upside down.
I am with Daniel and Joel with IN SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS—I dare say it’s among the best ten films of the year so far. (for me of course)
Twin Cities theaters probably accounted for a healthy chunk of that weekend take. I saw it at a standing room multiplex preview on Thursday, and observed out the door lines all weekend, as was the case with No Country last November. I can’t imagine what the scene will be like when A Serious Man opens here next year, considering the attention it’s already receiving while shooting. Speaking of which, I really need to crash the set before they’re gone…
I’m with you guys on Midnight Kiss, though I never reviewed it properly.
I can’t get over how prolific these guys are right now. The Coens have never had another point in their careers were they had so many projects going on in such rapid succession.
I wonder if that’s due to having a wealth of script ready to go or just their projects getting greenlighted more readily in the wake of No Country’s success?
Either way, I’m not complaining.
I really need to see “Midnight Kiss” soon.
Add to that Joel, Ethan Coen is branching off into theatre as well, with that long-running work of theater (which I saw and loved) “Almost an Evening,” which was so irreverant and hysterical that you walked out with severe pains in your stomach! They have really hit a prolific period for sure.
Nick I’m sure you’ll see MIDNIGHT KISS very soon; maybe the DVD is close.
I forgot to mention that I also watched THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE again, which I liked more this time than I did originally. I liked it when I first saw it, but thought it derailed in the end. However, the last time I saw it I was probably 15 or so.
I still think it goes on a bit too long, but I got the ending better this time. The first time I saw it I was like “aliens? WTF?” But I think I understood more what the Coens were going for now. It’s a really underappreciated film.
Glad to see some love for The Man Who Wasn’t There. It may not be the Coens best, but I think its their most beautiful film … both in plot and execution.
I love The Man Who Wasn’t There: it might not be my favorite Coen, but it’s the one I’ve seen most often - yes, more often than The Big Lebowski. Philip is absolutely right that it’s their most beautiful film - that black and white! the smoke! And Ed Crane is one of the most fascinating characters they’ve created - and they’ve created quite a few.
@Daniel: I finally finished that Into the Wild post, so you can find that over on my blog :-)
Great commentary track on that movie too. It ties Miller’s Crossing for me as most beautiful movie of theirs to look at. Course, Oh Brother is fairly pretty too, but that’s mostly a crafty (and ground-breaking) CGI effect.
Hehe, yeah, the commentary is great. How they talk about the “Ed Nod”, for example, and at a certain point Billy Bob Thornton points out Ed has a boner during one scene… now, of course, it’s all I can pay attention to.
The Man Who Wasn’t There is excellent. Maybe a little long, as was the most common complaint about it, I believe, when it was released. Roger Ebert was right when he quoted Michel Ciment, the Coens took a great noir plot that would have been at home with a ninety-minute running time and elongated it with style. And the commentary is fabulous.
Feel better, Craig.
I was home all weekend with a sore throat and fever so I did not see Burn After Reading as planned. If you don’t see me around much this week it’s because I still need to avoid the BAR discussions. And because I have strep throat it turns out. :-(
Hopefully this weekend I’ll get to see it.
I just posted at Hedwig’s site saying how much I hated INTO THE WILD. I hope she will (along with Nick and Alexander) forgive me for this position, Last year I was roasted at Awards Daily for making my views public! LOL!!!! Great piece though, Hedwig!
Hope you get over that lamentable strep throat soon, Alison.
Yeesh, Alison, we’re in the same boat with Burn After Reading. I hope you start feeling better and get over your strep throat.
LiC is one huge big sickbed today.
I’m sure I speak for the three of us, Sam, in saying we forgive you, and I understand your reasoning, as Chris was not exactly the most sensible and understandable person to follow for 140 minutes.
Just make sure to cover your mouths when commenting folks and wash your hands after posting.
Ah, feel better, dear Craig! Sending hand sanitizer your way!
Thanks DP!
Sorry to hear you’re the worst off of the lot of us Alison. Why is everyone sick?
I’m a little late to The Man Who Wasn’t There party, but it’s my favorite of the less well regarded Coen movies and it gets better every time I see it.
The ending wobbles a little bit, but I still like it.
I saw THE FALL.
And…..?
@Sam: no worries, if everyone always greed, it would be no fun at all! Also, I might have written a quite positive piece, but I by no means loved Into the Wild. I was, however, very impressed by it, and that’s probably what came through. I can understand your reasons for disliking it though.
Thanks for that Hedwig.
BREAKING NEWS!!! DECEMBER CRITERIONS ANNOUNCED!!!!
only two as expected for December—-
White Dog (Samuel Fuller)
Europa (Lars Von Trier)
“And…?”
Craig, I wasn’t actually sure if I should use the Watercooler to discuss this. But I all ready checked and you don’t have a specific review thread.
But I also have misgivings because I saw THE FALL on DVD about 4 AM on Monday. So it’s not technically the weekend.
But I am slightly more confident because you run the joint…and you DID ask.
This could rival dissertation territory. But I’ll attempt to cut to the chase. It will be tough. I’m dead bloody tired and I’m still sifting through my impressions.
But here goes…
I guess everything DOES happen for a reason. I can’t even believe I was upset about not seeing this in a theatre now.
*deep breath*
Well, that will be the last f ‘ing time I EVER promote anything on site that I haven’t seen.
THAT’S THE END.
Tarsem Singh MAY be a genius. One day we may see a complete and utter masterpiece from him.
But for now he needs a firm hand. Anyone that would give him final cut is a fool.
Somewhere in that film is a fabulous motion picture just roaring to get out. But THE FALL has a lot of very serious flaws. I’d love to be soft on it because it features some of my favourite BEETHOVEN.
But I can’t.
Now I understand why it failed to get distribution here and why it sat on the shelf for two years before being released in places like the U.S. I also get EXACTLY why you said that you didn’t know whether it was a comedy or a tragedy, Craig.
It is a STUNNINGLY gorgeous film to look at. The colours are deeply drenched and exquisite. SO BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL. A lot of it reminded me of Salvador Dali. That scene where they swam with the elephant was just spectacular.
Dazzling title sequence too. Well, EXCEPT FOR THE HORSE. That was rather sickening. Now if only the rest of the picture had lived up to that exquisite promise.
BUT NO….
So much of this picture is just BIZARRE. There are real problems with consistency of tone. Even though it barely runs two hours, it easily goes twenty minutes too long. It needs to be tightened up. The script meanders all over the place. Terribly unfocused. I understand that ROY is making it up as he goes along and he’s adjusting it to please ALEXANDRIA.
But it still didn’t make any sense.
JUSTINE WADDELL is a perfectly awful actor. Her voice sounds like a fricking buzz saw in hell. She is REALLY BAD. How the hell did she get that part?
***********SPOILERS ABOUND***********
That ending was absolutely retarded. It made NO SENSE whatsoever. I was SO GRATEFUL that Roy didn’t die. But was that a sensible way to conclude this???
I thought LEE was extraordinary. I hardly recognized him at first. He is a VERY slender man. But he had obviously packed on a lot of muscle to play a stunt person. So he did look a lot different. CATINCA was definitely his equal every step of the way. They have a great believable chemistry as well.
But this is the deal…
It does appear that he ROY did recover. I heard someone with a medical background discussing his case and he said that his back wasn’t the problem. Roy had a badly broken heart.
He knew he was going to live. He survived the pill taking fiasco. (I guess they weren’t morphine after all.) So after he knows that he’s going to be OK and the poor little kid busted her head wide open trying to obtain them for him, he visits her in her room and kills everyone off in a truly appalling way.
I hated that the monkey died and how those scumbags tortured that poor mystic and then hacked him to death over by that tree. That was gruesome and disturbing.
I understand that Roy was miserable and racked with grief. His crying really made me empathize with him. But there was no realistic point to making that girl more unhappy, Especially when she had tried to do him so much good and she cared for him so deeply.
So when she gets upset and says, “Why are you making everybody die?” he cries and says that that the Blue Bandit (him) is a coward. Then he tells her that it’s his story. “It’s my story, too,” she retorts.
The whole thing is so imbecilic.
There are some really ridiculous elements to this. But it’s not actually a bad movie. However, it could have been GREAT and it surely falls very short of that mark.
WHAT A WASTE….
********************END SPOILERS*****************
LEE did a commentary and I wanted to watch it again so I could have a listen to that. But I fell asleep and it did have to go back.
However, I did watch two half hour featurettes about the making of the film. There was no narration. Just Tarsem and cast filming scenes, setting up shots, interacting with the people that they met in the various countries where they travelled. That was interesting. Except for a couple of things.
There was a scene being filmed outside and Tarsem just LAID INTO Catinca. He started screaming and yelling at her. Having this fit. Chill, buddy. She’s only a little kid. Yeah, I realize time is money and you have to get that shot. But there’s no point on going all ELI CROSS on her. SHE’S SIX.
Then there was something else that I’d heard about and finally saw with my own eyes. LEE was in character the whole time. They’d haul him out onto a stretcher from a van and then onto his bed. Occasionally he’d use a wheelchair but for all intents and purposes he was realistically handicapped.
Tarsem told Catinca that Lee’s name really was Roy and she was deliberately fooled into thinking that Lee was unable to walk. Then finally they told her the score in front of cameras close to the last day of shooting.
^sigh* Directors….
They’ll do anything to get a decent performance out of a child. Including manipulation and being untruthful. I’m not very impressed.
So it’s a rather large disappointment to me, Craig. It’s POSSIBLE (?) I could have warmed to it on subsequent viewings. Too litte too late, though. But I doubt that I could EVER give it four stars under ANY circumstances.
So three stars out of five for me. If I were to give it letter grades, it comes DANGEROUSLY close to a C+.
But I guess I’d give it a B -.
Still, though, a real shame…
For the record, the Watercooler is for anything movie-related anyone wants to talk about. Coming on a Monday, the most natural thing is to talk about weekend movies, but that’s just a point of inspiration. Anything goes.
So your Fall disappointment fits right in.
First off, I’m sorry to hear you didn’t like it because I know how much you were looking forward to it. Having said that, as one who is less enthusiastic than others, I get where you’re coming from. Sounds like I enjoyed it a bit more than you, but I was still left wanting it to be something more.
My sense is that it’s a more meditative, visual film than one that depends completely on its story. It has to be given some room to breathe without being pinned down too hard on its narrative. I wasn’t able to do that the first time through, as beautiful as the whole thing was.
As I always say, I’d rather have movies that take huge chances but don’t quite succeed than ones that excel at dishing up mediocrity. In this case, I don’t think The Fall was a failure, but I hope it clicks with me better in the future.
Quick hit: Anybody checked this out? http://www.imdb.com/features/video/
Am I confused with how this works? There have to be more than 20 selections, but you have to search for everyone that isn’t listed?!?!
Oh, great. I think I just spammed myself again trying to link to IMDB.
Consider yourself de-spammed.
My guess is since they’re just launching it, they really do have only limited selections.
I wonder if they’ll rotate or if they’ll expand.
I also wonder if it’s US only like Hulu
I generally agree with your last point there about shooting for something new rather than trawling the mediocrity of something safe and palatable, but I think I’m somewhere between Miranda and you on The Fall. I liked the look of it, the characters, and the basic idea behind the movie but it lost my interest somewhere near the middle and the ending kinda ruined the movie for me. I still appreciated what he was doing, but I had hard time accepting that the ending was anything short of spiteful. As I recall, I had a hard time not walking out of the movie in the last 10 minutes.
For a completely different take, see the review and comments at House Next Door.
Thanks, Craig. I wonder about it, too. Kind of cool that you can go to a movie’s page, like Master and Commander, and just hit watch now. I’ll never do it, of course.
I’m hoping you save some energy for your own review, Miranda! I can’t say I’m surprised that you were let down by the story. I’m about in the same place as Joel, but yet I like that HND post also.
@Miranda: Retarded? Really?
LIC has been on opposite ends of the spectrum. Alexander Coleman claims it may well be the best film of 2008 so far, and he’s not an easy guy to please.
Go figure.
I will speak my own piece on it at next week’s Watercooler.
Glad to hear about that White Dog DVD release, and glad to hear that I’m not alone in being disappointed by The Fall. I liked it even less than Miranda did.
Yeah, I was completely disappointed in THE FALL, Jeff. But I didn’t actually dislike it. It just has some glariing weaknesses that I couldn’t overlook and it was clearly not what I was expecting.
“I ‘d rather have movies that take huge chances but don’t quite succeed than ones that excel in dishing up mediocrity.”
I feel precisely the same way, Craig.
It’s true that, for a serious woman, I often fall on the style side of the style vs. substance debate. Ideally, a film should have both. But there are times that I prefer glamour, gorgeous cinematography, romantic/sexy subplots or sumptuous art direction to intellectual ponderings so deep that they border on pretension.
MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS is a quintessential example.
I might have appreciated THE FALL more if I had seen it multiple times. But there’s nothing driving me steadily towards that opportunity.
But it’s highly unlikely that it will ever be a four star film in my opinion. It’s simply too flawed.
Danny, I’d have to take another look at it if I were going to review it. In any case, I’m just not passionate about it. If I’m going to do ANYTHING, it has to get me going and there has to be some kind of payoff.
Neither is forthcoming in this particular scenario.
I don’t really regret promoting it at CP. I thought the trailer was spectacular. But I did want it to succeed (or at least spread the word) because of Lee.
He’s doing exceptionally well now. He’s been nominated for an Emmy. Looks like he’s in a completely different category at this point in terms of work.
However, I won’t be embracing anything over at my site any more unless I’ve seen it.
EVER…
It was just one of those things….
If I may, I’m going to take the “anything that’s on your mind” card a little far here. I know Christian will get a kick out of this. There’s been a lot of local laughing about a news story that’s emerged after the RNC last week.
It’s best experienced if you watch this short video first: http://www.linktv.org/video/2931
And then read this story: http://www.twincities.com/ci_10472581
That is all.
That made my day.
That was awesome, Daniel. Love to see the jackass get his due. I’m a little disappointed to see he’s considered intelligent enough to be allowed on PBS, considering how absolutely asinine his assertions are. It would be child’s play to debate that idiot.
He almost doesn’t seem a like a real human who has rational thoughts. One word answers? I’ve been waiting for some hoax to come out of this but it hasn’t happened. I was pretty impressed with the interviewer, too, haha.
Bomb the hell out of them.
Strategically.
“The haul included a $30,000 watch, a $20,000 ring, a necklace valued at $5,000, earrings priced at $4,000 and a Prada belt valued at $1,000, police said.”
Further evidence, not that it was needed, of his superficiality.
The interviewer seemed kinda shocked by his answers, which I found even more amusing.
It’s almost got the quality of a Daily Show bit. I WISH Stephen Colbert had been there to ask questions.
Awesome. You could definitely tell the interviewer couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Idiots like this are why people hate us.
Idiots like this have been in the White House for 8 %$#@ing years.
Longer than that, Joel…
Fair enough, Alison, but to keep things simple for those following along at home I was only speaking in regards to the idiots that actually agree with the jackass noted in Daniel’s posts. There’s a difference, a degree of idiocy, if you will.
One of you is practicing Fuzzy Math
“There’s a difference, a degree of idiocy, if you will.”
The current idiots have no capacity for abstract thought?
What I don’t get is why the major news media is acting so surprised about the stock market plunges of late. People knew this was coming months ago, but nobody was talking about it in the media that I’m aware of.
Wow. I mean, that clip was… wow. That’s like the worst caricature of the dumb American come to life.
What surprises me most is: how does a guy that dumb get so rich?
Pierre, I think that’s generally because most Americans, including the media, have no concept of how the financial system works or how deep the actual problems go or how complex global markets are. We tend to ignore the warnings of dire consequences until the consequences are already playing out because people can’t get their head around the issues involved. I’m no financial expert, but if you were listening warning bells have been sounded for years now.
Go back 8-9 years ago when Republicans, aided by certain Democrats, were happily deregulating various financial rules and restrictions on banks, the stock market, and mortgage lenders and you’ll find that experts were predicting this kind of outcome even then.
Enron was the Yield sign on the road, but with Republicans in charge of Congress and the Presidency no changes were made. Now here we are today.
Idiocy indeed.