Miscellaneous Movie Musings - Page 466

innerSpaceman · 08-24-2009, 09:52 AM

Ponyo has no skaky cam, and is available legit at Amazon. (The download is a pirate of the legit-released DVD.)

flippyshark · 08-24-2009, 01:26 PM

I just go backl from the English language Ponyo - I can't say anything about it that won't sound unbelievably sappy - but it felt cleansing in its simplicity, beauty and uncynical humanity. Just a small story, not a big emotional roller-coaster, but between the gorgeous drawings and Joe Hisaishi's score, I spent most of my time quietly leaking out of the corners of my eyes while smiling. So, I can't wait to see it in its original nihongo. (Though, as dubs go, this one was very well done.)

Strangler Lewis · 08-30-2009, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flippyshark

I just go backl from the English language Ponyo - I can't say anything about it that won't sound unbelievably sappy - but it felt cleansing in its simplicity, beauty and uncynical humanity. Just a small story, not a big emotional roller-coaster, but between the gorgeous drawings and Joe Hisaishi's score, I spent most of my time quietly leaking out of the corners of my eyes while smiling. So, I can't wait to see it in its original nihongo. (Though, as dubs go, this one was very well done.)

Megadittoes. Plus, with all the 3D, Pixar, etc. clever animation, I've seen, this is the first movie I've been at where little kids were gasping and oohing in surprise and amazement.

And while I usually don't indulge in superlatives . . .

["Ssh, quiet, he's going to indulge in superlatives.]

. . . I would say that

Spoiler:

flippyshark · 08-24-2009, 01:29 PM

(Oh, but PS - there is a terrible dance remix of the title song in the end credits, complete with a Jonas brother and some other Disney tween clone - I'd be surprised if that is in the original soundtrack in any form.)

innerSpaceman · 08-24-2009, 02:05 PM

I love the end credits song (before the dance mix). Now I want to do a Mermaid mix tape with The Mermaid Song from Tokyo Disney, some obligatory tune from The Little Mermaid and the Ponyo catchy end credits song. Um, that's 3.

Well, a really brief mix tape.

I found the expository elements of the fairy tale to be beyond sappy, and the main boy character didn't grab me at all. Generally speaking, I prefer the one's without little children, but this was delightful. Visually outstanding.

Gemini Cricket · 08-27-2009, 01:42 AM

I
loved
District 9!

It's a great film. Go see it. Uh, you know, if you can. There is a TON of shaky cam. But I must admit (me sitting against the wall below the projector window) it didn't bother me too much. In fact, as I was saying before I really liked it. If it didn't have it, the movie wouldn't have been as good, imho. I felt the same way about Cloverfield. The documentary feel of this movie sells it.

A couple of times I talked about grit in a movie that makes it believable, this one is has a lot of it. Casting unknown actors was also a huge plus.

One review said it had you riveted from the very beginning to the end, I would have to agree totally.

It didn't ever get cheesy either. At least not to me. As soon as it started heading there, Blomkamp cuts away from the scene. Nicely done.

The movie gets props for terrific use of editing, visual effects (they knew that the mother ship did not need to be in focus and properly lit 100% of the time) and sound effects (I've seen thousands of films and I actually thought someone was talking in the theater, realizing that it was Copley's voice).

It did take me awhile to get into the groove with the prawns. At first, the seemed comical and out of place. But that quickly changed for me.

Some of it was reminiscent of Aliens for me, but all in all I loved it.

Spoiler:

Cadaverous Pallor · 08-27-2009, 08:38 AM

Finally got around to Be Kind Rewind. This seemed to be two different movies in one - a tribute to pop culture film and a tribute to a jazz musician. These themes didn't mesh well and by the end when the jazz stuff was heavy and sugary, I was annoyed that it was edging out the pop culture fun.

Also - it began rather cartoony, with Jack Black's accident seeming like something out of Ghostbusters itself, but by the end it was way too real and serious. Too much variation in tone.

Enjoyable anyway, but left me wanting more fun.

innerSpaceman · 08-27-2009, 09:58 AM

I finally got around to Were the World Mine ... the movie who's trailer intrigued me when we saw Repo: The Genetic Opera. I think I liked that trailer better than the feature (sorry, GD).

But I found the movie really boring and fell asleep. Too soon, I guess. I'm glad I gave it a second chance last night when I was more awake. After a slow start, it really becomes the charmer I was looking forward to.

A gay teen always picked on at the all-boys prep school he attends (no this isn't a porn film) lands the role of Puck in a school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. While rehearsing the role, he concocts his own brew of gay love potion and accidentally doses his straight best friend. When that works to unfortunate results, he tries for better ones with the hottie guy from the Rugby team he lusts after. Then he doses the entire cast of the play. And then many people about town. Everyone goes gay for a day, and sweet hijinks ensue.

Eliza Hodgkins 1812 · 08-27-2009, 06:16 PM

Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist: I thought Michael Cera was lovely and most of the cast enjoyable to watch. The story was so-so, and for a movie so focused on music I kind of felt like music took too much of a backseat. HATED the drunk girl vomits and chews vomit gum bits. HATED. And the decision to make the girl that dumps Cera's character such a movie-typical hot teen bitch was really disappointing.

Gigantic: Starring Paul Dano who mostly wasted away here. The only person with any energy in this film was John Goodman, and this very-not-so-great movie was worth it just for his scenes. Zooey D. was the Zooey D. she always is when she isn't awesomely singing, and mostly I just wanted to steal her clothes. There was a subplot involving Zach Galifianakis that was really out of place, adding a "Fight Club" is this guy nuts question mark that is never answered and, based on how the rest of the film played out, really should have been. Quirky fluff that never delivers, again, minus Goodman.

flippyshark · 08-27-2009, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eliza Hodgkins 1812

Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist: HATED the drunk girl vomits and chews vomit gum bits. HATED.

Yep - completely killed the movie for me.

08-24-2009, 09:52 AM	#1
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	Ponyo has no skaky cam, and is available legit at Amazon. (The download is a pirate of the legit-released DVD.)
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08-24-2009, 01:26 PM	#2
flippyshark Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 2,852	I just go backl from the English language Ponyo - I can't say anything about it that won't sound unbelievably sappy - but it felt cleansing in its simplicity, beauty and uncynical humanity. Just a small story, not a big emotional roller-coaster, but between the gorgeous drawings and Joe Hisaishi's score, I spent most of my time quietly leaking out of the corners of my eyes while smiling. So, I can't wait to see it in its original nihongo. (Though, as dubs go, this one was very well done.)
	Submit to Quotes

08-24-2009, 01:29 PM	#4
flippyshark Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 2,852	(Oh, but PS - there is a terrible dance remix of the title song in the end credits, complete with a Jonas brother and some other Disney tween clone - I'd be surprised if that is in the original soundtrack in any form.)
	Submit to Quotes

08-24-2009, 02:05 PM	#5
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	I love the end credits song (before the dance mix). Now I want to do a Mermaid mix tape with The Mermaid Song from Tokyo Disney, some obligatory tune from The Little Mermaid and the Ponyo catchy end credits song. Um, that's 3. Well, a really brief mix tape. I found the expository elements of the fairy tale to be beyond sappy, and the main boy character didn't grab me at all. Generally speaking, I prefer the one's without little children, but this was delightful. Visually outstanding.
	Submit to Quotes

08-27-2009, 01:42 AM	#6
Gemini Cricket ... Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 13,244	I loved District 9! It's a great film. Go see it. Uh, you know, if you can. There is a TON of shaky cam. But I must admit (me sitting against the wall below the projector window) it didn't bother me too much. In fact, as I was saying before I really liked it. If it didn't have it, the movie wouldn't have been as good, imho. I felt the same way about Cloverfield. The documentary feel of this movie sells it. A couple of times I talked about grit in a movie that makes it believable, this one is has a lot of it. Casting unknown actors was also a huge plus. One review said it had you riveted from the very beginning to the end, I would have to agree totally. It didn't ever get cheesy either. At least not to me. As soon as it started heading there, Blomkamp cuts away from the scene. Nicely done. The movie gets props for terrific use of editing, visual effects (they knew that the mother ship did not need to be in focus and properly lit 100% of the time) and sound effects (I've seen thousands of films and I actually thought someone was talking in the theater, realizing that it was Copley's voice). It did take me awhile to get into the groove with the prawns. At first, the seemed comical and out of place. But that quickly changed for me. Some of it was reminiscent of Aliens for me, but all in all I loved it. Spoiler: Wasn't thrilled by the 'I'm going to eat your arm' scene, but by that time the movie had already scored major points with me that it didn't bother me too much.
	Submit to Quotes

08-27-2009, 08:38 AM	#7
Cadaverous Pallor ohhhh baby Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Parental Bliss Posts: 12,364	Finally got around to Be Kind Rewind. This seemed to be two different movies in one - a tribute to pop culture film and a tribute to a jazz musician. These themes didn't mesh well and by the end when the jazz stuff was heavy and sugary, I was annoyed that it was edging out the pop culture fun. Also - it began rather cartoony, with Jack Black's accident seeming like something out of Ghostbusters itself, but by the end it was way too real and serious. Too much variation in tone. Enjoyable anyway, but left me wanting more fun. __________________ The second star to the right shines in the night for you
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08-27-2009, 09:58 AM	#8
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	I finally got around to Were the World Mine ... the movie who's trailer intrigued me when we saw Repo: The Genetic Opera. I think I liked that trailer better than the feature (sorry, GD). But I found the movie really boring and fell asleep. Too soon, I guess. I'm glad I gave it a second chance last night when I was more awake. After a slow start, it really becomes the charmer I was looking forward to. A gay teen always picked on at the all-boys prep school he attends (no this isn't a porn film) lands the role of Puck in a school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. While rehearsing the role, he concocts his own brew of gay love potion and accidentally doses his straight best friend. When that works to unfortunate results, he tries for better ones with the hottie guy from the Rugby team he lusts after. Then he doses the entire cast of the play. And then many people about town. Everyone goes gay for a day, and sweet hijinks ensue.
	Submit to Quotes

08-27-2009, 06:16 PM	#9
Eliza Hodgkins 1812 Sputnik Sweetheart Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Long Beach Posts: 2,685	Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist: I thought Michael Cera was lovely and most of the cast enjoyable to watch. The story was so-so, and for a movie so focused on music I kind of felt like music took too much of a backseat. HATED the drunk girl vomits and chews vomit gum bits. HATED. And the decision to make the girl that dumps Cera's character such a movie-typical hot teen bitch was really disappointing. Gigantic: Starring Paul Dano who mostly wasted away here. The only person with any energy in this film was John Goodman, and this very-not-so-great movie was worth it just for his scenes. Zooey D. was the Zooey D. she always is when she isn't awesomely singing, and mostly I just wanted to steal her clothes. There was a subplot involving Zach Galifianakis that was really out of place, adding a "Fight Club" is this guy nuts question mark that is never answered and, based on how the rest of the film played out, really should have been. Quirky fluff that never delivers, again, minus Goodman.
	Submit to Quotes