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Re: films n shit
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 6:39 pm
by Machinesworking
LoopStationZebra wrote:Machinesworking wrote:
I'm probably alone in this, but Burton is a hack with no substance, just good set designers. None of his characters or story lines have an ounce of depth to them IMO.
lol, yeah can't say that I agree, but I certainly understand where you are coming from. At some point early in his youth he crawled up Chaz Addams' asshole and never left.

But I'm a fan; though there are several of his films that I loath.
Have you seen Big Fish? A lot of folks who aren't Burton fans seemed quite taken with that flick, because I think it does have more humanity and emotional depth that his other films might lack (or, rather, skew off in bizarre ways).
I'll check it out for sure. Love Charles Adams. I don't hate on Burton, just don't get the attention he garners.
He doesn't IMO deserve it. I think Mike Leigh should be hired to kidnap him, tie him to a chair and somehow beat the sense of humanity and depth of character you see in Leigh films into him. Then the guy would be a powerhouse, what with his great set designs and such.
Re: films n shit
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 9:07 pm
by beats me
Sorry to break up all the highbrow artistic merit in this thread with a little slapstick, but I just watched Blazing Saddles for the first time in a long time and wow talk about a movie that could never get made today. The blatant racism that is important to the plot and the punchlines would never be tolerated by the hypersensitive masses of today. Never again will you hear the line "We'll give land to the niggers and the chinks, but we don't want the Irish!" as part of a lighthearted bonding moment.
I was really young when it originally came out so I'm wondering if there was a lot of controversy when it first got released like there would be today. But I think the racism was used more against the ignorance of the people during that time period than to directly belittle the races. It clearly showed white people as the dipshits.
Case in point:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-SlyicdHEw
Re: films n shit
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 10:48 pm
by MacGuffin

holy shit! I have to rewatch Blazing Saddles!! thanks that was amazing, really.
my favorite comedy is Commando. It's really incredible, if you haven't seen it in a while it's worth a watch. All the retarded dialogues, absurd violence... Arnie kills like 130 guys in this movie, and it's way more badass than Terminator (but not as retarded as Raw Deal).
Re: films n shit
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 11:07 pm
by dhilsabeck
If we're going off into Mel Brooks territory, I have to give a hearty recommendation for Spaceballs.

Re: films n shit
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 11:17 pm
by oblique strategies
MacGuffin wrote:
my favorite comedy is Commando. It's really incredible, if you haven't seen it in a while it's worth a watch. All the retarded dialogues, absurd violence... Arnie kills like 130 guys in this movie, and it's way more badass than Terminator (but not as retarded as Raw Deal).
In a similar vein, I think Battlefield Earth works as comedy. It gets so much so gloriously wrong that it's like watching a 117 minute train wreck! A modern Ed Wood movie!

"Kneel before me rat-brain!"
Re: films n shit
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 1:21 am
by LoopStationZebra
Okay, let's put it on the line here. Notting Hill. Romcom of the first order. Fucking love that flick. Sentimentality at it's finest.
Truly Madly Deeply. Awesome. I'm gonna put it in the romcom slot, though I suppose it's more dramatic. One of Alan Rickman's finest performances.
Re: films n shit
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 1:32 am
by LoopStationZebra
beats me wrote:Sorry to break up all the highbrow artistic merit in this thread with a little slapstick, but I just watched Blazing Saddles for the first time in a long time and wow talk about a movie that could never get made today. The blatant racism that is important to the plot and the punchlines would never be tolerated by the hypersensitive masses of today. Never again will you hear the line "We'll give land to the niggers and the chinks, but we don't want the Irish!" as part of a lighthearted bonding moment.
I was really young when it originally came out so I'm wondering if there was a lot of controversy when it first got released like there would be today. But I think the racism was used more against the ignorance of the people during that time period than to directly belittle the races. It clearly showed white people as the dipshits.
Case in point:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-SlyicdHEw
Such a classic. And there was in fact a lot of liberals who utterly didn't get it. The NY Times was one of many that had a scathing review; saying, in fact, that it was promoting the very stereotypes that it was supposedly making fun of. Fail.

I think in one of Roger Ebert's books he devotes a section to discussing the movie and how the intelligentsia needed to get their collective head's out of their asses, and that there was more than one way to fight racism.
They did the same shit with All In The Family; a show that offered what is still the most scathing indictment of white racism and prejudice to ever appear on TV.
Actually, he caught a TON of shit as well from Jewish leaders for History of the World.
Re: films n shit
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 5:07 am
by Machinesworking
LoopStationZebra wrote:
They did the same shit with All In The Family; a show that offered what is still the most scathing indictment of white racism and prejudice to ever appear on TV.
Thing about that show is they actually had a small amount of depth to Archie Bunker. Total asshole, but not to the point that made him a cartoon.
People don't like that, they want their villains ugly all the time, not complex and real life humans.
Re: films n shit
Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 5:21 pm
by beats me
Just saw Youth in Revolt. Really great movie if you like extremely dry sarcasm....which I do. I love movies full of depressed people cracking jokes that nobody in the movie is laughing at. Not quite sure what that says about me.
Re: films n shit
Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 6:27 pm
by Machinesworking
beats me wrote:Just saw Youth in Revolt. Really great movie if you like extremely dry sarcasm....which I do. I love movies full of depressed people cracking jokes that nobody in the movie is laughing at. Not quite sure what that says about me.
It means you're a cute cuddly lovable racist like Archie Bunker!
(could... not... resist... sorry brah!)
Re: films n shit
Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 6:54 pm
by Tarekith
JCVD, pretty good flick.
Re: films n shit
Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 7:05 pm
by MacGuffin
Tarekith wrote:JCVD, pretty good flick.
Yes, that was surprisingly entertaining!
Re: films n shit
Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 7:28 pm
by Rave
LoopStationZebra wrote:
Truly Madly Deeply. Awesome. I'm gonna put it in the romcom slot, though I suppose it's more dramatic. One of Alan Rickman's finest performances.
Truly is a great story albeit a sad one.
Leaving las Vegas wins the depressing movie award though.
Re: films n shit
Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 7:37 pm
by LoopStationZebra
Hey, the Swiss aren't going to extradite Polanski after all, and have lifted all his restrictions.
Guess that means they aren't going to be releasing all that Nazi Gold either.

Re: films n shit
Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 7:44 pm
by LoopStationZebra
In honor of the passing of Harvey Pekar I'll throw in one the finest, most original movies in the past 20 years:
American Splendor
If you've never seen it, do yourself a favor and rent it.