TheValkyries
proudly reppin' 2 superbowl wins since DEFLATEGATE
Man I need to make some kinda huge post in this thread. I've been watching so many movies lately gatdamn
1) 3 Idiots is one of my favourite movies of all time. Low-brow humour isn't inherently a bad thing - look at Dumb and Dumber, Laurel and Hardy, etc. Some scenes are hilarious (the speech scene, for example). I love 3 Idiots for its emotional value, however. Yes, it's cheesy and overly sentimental, but damn, doesn't it work? The film is so good-natured, so heart-breaking, has a strong emotional core, has admirable and important moral messages, and Aamir Khan is fantastic. The two songs were just great big bundles of fun - 3 Idiots tries to rid of the viewer's cynicism and it succeeded for me at least.#113 3 Idiots
A lot of people live in India. That's the explanation I read from time to time when Bollywood flicks creep onto the IMDB top 250. And for sure some should be there, but sometimes they show up out of nowhere and disappear just as suddenly. In the month of October there was another film I probably would have watched with this one had it not vanished. 3 Idiots on the other hand has endured, with plans for an American remake, in spite of complaints by English speaking imdb regulars. Well, it's not bad. The message is very important. Schools teach us to take tests and not to learn, and in some countries literally kill people. But it's not very good either. The comedy is low-brow as fuck. Slide whistle. The dramatic scenes are more than a bit ridiculous and sappy by our standards. The two songs felt out of place in a nearly three hour movie and weren't very impressive, though one was annoyingly catchy. I'd probably have to see more Bollywood to really judge this, but so far I liked fake Bollywood movie Slumdog Millionaire a lot more.
#152 The Martian
A triumph of human capability and a champion of science, this movie was everything that Interstellar wanted to be and failed miserably at. It's one of many movies this year absolutely worth watching. It doesn't fall into the normal space cliches until the very end, and doesn't ruin itself over them. Matt Damon acts his ass off, with plenty of opportunity to effectively emote.
I don't see what's safe at all about, as BT put it better, "trying to reignite the golden age of nasa". It doesn't bring to mind other movies, it brings to mind congressional hearings. Interstellar on the other hand is ostensibly about humans becoming their own gods through intellect, yet it's also a movie where a room full of scientists believes in a space ghost for no reason, or make really stilted speeches about how love beats facts. And I'm stunned that you of all people would confuse "set pieces" with "ambition". Big video game cgi neither makes me think nor does it really dent Nolan's pocket at this point. Interstellar has a lot of heart and it was entertaining, but it's a stupid movie and it'd be Nolan's worst if Rises didn't exist.2) Gonna have to strongly disagree with you on The Martian; Interstellar was a far superior film. The Martian wasn't bad at all - but it was very safe. The film was amusing, and relatively enjoyable, but there was nothing in it to make you go 'wow, this is stunning' like Interstellar's 'mountains' scene, or the wormhole, etc. The film aimed to be an enjoyable feel-good romp and it succeeded, at the expense of any emotional heft. The characters - including Damon - all came across as caricatures (Glover the worst of these cases). It's a fine movie - but just fine. It lacks the ambition or the depth for me to really like it.
Don't be fooled, the movie isn't actually about artificial intelligence. Also easily in contention for one of the best movies of the year....Request for the typical reviewers: Ex Machina
I gave it an 8/10 and I'm a pretty hard rater. It is a simple movie, but almost beautiful in it's simplicity. I would recommend it, but it's not going to challenge any movies in your favorites list.Request for the typical reviewers: Ex Machina
Ok I don't know if I'm cold-hearted or what but I found Carol to be just fine but nothing more. The mood Haynes created was excellent but the story itself, and the performances, didn't emote much imo. Each individual performance was very good (though Blanchett was hamming it in a little at the start), but there wasn't any tangible chemistry between Mara and Blanchett. After hearing about Carol like it was the second-coming of Christ, I found it all rather disappointing. The score was great to begin with, but is literally the same tune again and again; I know that method can work, but here it felt a lil repetitive.Carol is legit in the running for my favorite movie of the year<3
That's definitely a common criticism I've seen for the film, how it was too cold, too distant, etc. I, for one, loved that aspect of the film. Every soft, delicate touch and and longing glance held a lot of emotional impact. Not to mention that I was completely head over heels for the cinematography, score, and performances (Mara's nuanced one, especially). But, hey, different opinions and reactions! Also, coincidentally, The Duke of Burgundy has been on my watch list for quite some time.Ok I don't know if I'm cold-hearted or what but I found Carol to be just fine but nothing more. The mood Haynes created was excellent but the story itself, and the performances, didn't emote much imo. Each individual performance was very good (though Blanchett was hamming it in a little at the start), but there wasn't any tangible chemistry between Mara and Blanchett. After hearing about Carol like it was the second-coming of Christ, I found it all rather disappointing. The score was great to begin with, but is literally the same tune again and again; I know that method can work, but here it felt a lil repetitive.
I also thought the plot was nothing to write home about - it focused too much on Carol's family issues, and too much on Therese's photography interest; one had an abrupt resolution while the other didn't really go anywhere. The film didn't give enough time for Blanchett and Mara's relationship to breathe and develop, and when there were chances for that to happen, instead Haynes chose long pauses and incessant stares at one another instead of actual dialogue to build a relationship and make it believable.
And I'm all for ambiguous endings but it was apparent that Haynes just didn't know how to bring his film to a halt.
If you want to see a lesbian drama that does everything better, watch The Duke of Burgundy.
3/5