Direct from the Gorges

I've seen a few movies recently --finally!-- and it's finally summer. So here goes:

HUNGER GAMES: While this was entertaining, I think it was a serious miss in terms of character development and in the fact that it de-emphasized the violence and class differences portrayed in the books which to me was what made the story at all interesting.

THE FIFTH ELEMENT: Awesome! How had I not seen this before?

DISTRICT 9: I realllllly liked this. Did any of you? I'm sure you've already had a discussion about it - I'm a little behind the times. I loved the documentary style of this. The CGI left something to be desired. But I loved the apartheid parallel here, it was pretty powerful to me. Also, I thought the ending was fantastic. I'd put money on the fact that you guys disagree.

CADDY SHACK: Yes, I just saw this for the first time. Hilarious. What more can be said?

BLUES BROTHERS: I loved the musical performances in this. Everything else I could do without.

THE LAST WALTZ: Loved it. But it was a band documentary/concert, what can you really say?

A NYMPHOID BARBARIAN IN DINOSAUR HELL: This was... indescribable? Not porn. Which was kind of disappointing to be honest. I watched it with some friends. It was absolutely horrible. It's a Troma film, which didn't mean anything to me but probably means something to you guys. Definitely could have used more sex, is all I'm saying.

And a few documentaries... PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES (interesting... David Carr is insane); DOCTORS' DIARIES (I really liked this, it followed people from the beginning of medical school to like 10 or 20 years after or something to see what they ended up doing with their lives); AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: The GREELY EXPEDITION (yikes... cannibalism); AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: LBJ (one of the best and most depressing and most touching things I've ever watched).

I also rewatched THE OTHERS (still love it) BRIDESMAIDS (still liked it, sorry Brandon), ZODIAC (still fantastic), DEAD POETS' SOCIETY (still makes me cry) and FOLLOWING (sorry guys).

I have quite a few of your posts to catch up on...

Top 10 Woody Allen Films

1. Annie Hall
2. Annie Hall
3. Annie Hall
4. Annie Hall
5. Annie Hall
6. Annie Hall
7. Annie Hall
8. Annie Hall
9. Annie Hall
10. Annie Hall

I love Woody Allen, but I especially love Annie Hall. I don't think it's overrated, and I hate when people disparage it. (I have heard people say it's overrated or too much of a romcom or something. Fuck off.) And so to show my support, I have made my top 10 list. All of his other movies that I've seen get an honorable mention, with special prominence given to Manhattan and Hannah & Her Sisters. I haven't seen one I don't like yet. (Although Melinda & Melinda is not one I'd probably watch again.) I keep coercing people into watching Match Point. I don't know why anyone hates on that one either. Anyway, there you have it.

In a race against time to finish a lit review tonight. After that I will post more. Although there's no keeping up with all of your Facebook posts! Jeez. :)

Ben - after I finish this lit review I'm playing Settlers of Catan with some friends. Thought you'd appreciate that!

We are marshall

Hey yo, just procrastinating from writing a paper. Sorry, a little off-topic, but I forgot that I watched WE ARE MARSHALL the other night. It was just ok I thought. Pretty much your basic sports underdog story, based on a true story. The whole thing looked like an Instagram photo. I guess that was kind of cool. But I was kind of wavering on the movie the whole way through, and then a sappy montage at the end just put it over the top for me. Even though I'm not really into sports, I can get into a good sports movie/show... but this one was not my favorite. It made me want to watch some Friday Night Lights. I think Matthew McConaughey gave a good performance though. But need I say it? Shoulda been the Gos.

ADRIENNE I LOVE YOU

Self-indulgent and pretentious!!... Adrienne you rock. A similar reaction from me did almost get me kicked out of this Malick-obsessed film club -- but don't worry, they never officially pulled the plug. (However, they have threatened to throw me in the gorges in Ithaca... fair warning in case you ever make the trip to see something with them at Cinemapolis.)

I've been loving all of your lists. Hopefully I'll have some time to respond soon. I think I'm going to do the same type of 2011 list Adrienne did. You guys know it's always hard for me to rank things in a top 10... these kinds of categories might work better for me. It's going to be a little while though, because I have big stuff due tomorrow and Friday. Maybe this weekend. Although there are a LOT of 2011 films I haven't seen... so I might try to watch a few more before I do it.

PS

-I have really loved reading everyone's 2011 year-in-review posts. :) You guys are the greatest.
-I still haven't seen DRIVE. Ben I liked your comment about the film version of a Chuck P. novel. I have to say I am a fan of the two I've seen (FIGHT CLUB and CHOKE)... but if you meant the novels themselves, I would have to agree. ;) But either way it was a great comment, it made me laugh.
-I'm still getting used to the whole capitalizing movies thing, but I promise I will get the hang of it in 2012.

Black Swan 2

Jason - I feel your pain about the lack of responses... Usually people don't respond to mine because I watch weirdo indie movies and documentaries, so it doesn't really bother me because I bring that on myself. ;) I did want to respond to your BLACK SWAN post, but I haven't had time because I have a bunch of homework I have to get done before winter break is over (!). But the short version is that I think we watch movies kind of similarly in general, and not surprisingly I had a very similar reaction to BLACK SWAN that you did. I'm glad to hear I wasn't the only one with the emotional reaction to it. It was kind of hard for me to articulate my feelings about it right after watching it, which is what I tried to do -- I think I wrote my post the same night. But I remember just being like, how can I even write something about this? I was talking to some people about it last week actually, recommending it to them, and I have to say that even now I have trouble articulating why I had such a strong reaction to it. I remember saying that I loved it and at the same time it made me want to puke. Now in hindsight, I just loved it, period. I continue to love it more as time goes by... I'm hankering for a second watch of it actually. I also regret that I didn't get to watch the special features, because I would have liked to have seen those interviews. Maybe soon.

Brandon - I can see what you're saying about the movie not needing the stuff like the mirror scene. This will surprise you considering my NSFL troubles but I actually thought they were totally in place in the movie, I guess maybe because I was empathizing with the character's crazy and I could totally see her picturing those things happening (regardless of whether they did), and I thought it kind of needed to be that scary and gimmicky because things actually can be like that in our heads. (At least in my head.) On a separate note, I thought what you were saying about the people in the theater was interesting (I thought that in the Midnight in Paris discussion too). I totally think that the context of the viewing experience can ruin a movie, or at least totally alter your experience/opinion of it. Especially like you said one that has those moments where you KNOW it's going to be sexual or violent or whatever, and you know the bozos in front of you are going to make another stupid comment. I get a little sensitive about seeing certain movies in theaters (or with certain people) for that reason. It's also kind of why I told the friends I was talking to last week NOT to watch BLACK SWAN with their parents. I actually think the awkwardness of that could just ruin the movie altogether.

Welcome Adrienne! Now I'm not the only girl in film club. :) I don't know if you heard but there used to be a No Girls Allowed sign.

The Girl With The Gosling Tattoo

First of all, I love film club too, even though I've been a less-than-active participant lately. Ben thanks for inviting me in, and guys, thanks for taking down the No-Girls-Allowed sign. :)

Now that the Dragon Tattoo debate has died down, I'm ready to throw in my two cents' worth. I really liked it. I haven't seen the Swedish version, and I haven't read the books. I'm not sure why everyone's saying the story is trash. Is it just because it was an airport novel? Or because it was super popular? Or because it's a thriller/mystery? I didn't read the book, so I'm not really understanding that. I haven't seen Breaking Bad, so those comparisons are lost on me. ;)

Anyway, regardless, I thought Fincher was totally the person for this job, and I thought his style was perfect to convey the story - you guys have pretty much covered it all. I am a Fincher fan (although not blindly... to be honest I haven't been able to sit through all of Benjamin Button yet), and while this wasn't my favorite of his, I thought he was back in his element a bit with this one. I loved all the detail and precision and - as you guys have said - obsession. I think it made this the best version of the movie it could be. Although I should say, the thing I liked best about the movie was Mara's performance. She made the movie for me. I think that's a tough role to play, but she had me totally convinced.

I've been getting into a lot of arguments this week with people about the "big" scenes in this movie. People keep saying the scene where she takes her revenge on the social worker is way worse than the one where she gets raped by him. That infuriates me. I pushed the people I talked to on the issue and the consensus has been that it's probably because people are used to seeing women get raped or some semblance of that because of porn and stuff, but when it's a guy getting something shoved up his ass it's shocking. Other people I talked to have said there shouldn't be any of these kinds of scenes in a movie ever because nobody wants to see or think about stuff like that. I understand why they say that, but I think it's good that this is making people so uncomfortable, because sexual assault is like a huge serious issue that's kind of taboo, and I think it's good when movies make us confront those kinds of things that we don't want to think about. (Although I think if someone has been a victim of sexual assault this is one they should skip, because like one of you said, I don't know how you could sit through watching that.) I know there's debate about the motives of Larsson, but since I haven't read it and don't really know anything about him, I can't really say anything. But regardless I thought it was handled well by Fincher. I thought it was as long as it needed to be, and I thought the details like the floor cleaner made the situations that much more real and that much more horrifying. This stuff IS horrifying.

I think because of the nature of the characters in this it might be hard for people to connect with them, and the nature of some of the subject material might also put a damper on things for people. And this following the Swedish version I'm sure does not help things. But I did connect with the characters, and the subject material didn't bother me, and I didn't see the Swedish version. And I love a thriller/mystery, as you guys know. So yeah, I really liked it. I really have loved reading all of your opinions on it too, it kind of makes me want to watch the Swedish version now.