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Messages - drinkanddestroy
1
« on: March 04, 2021, 11:48:08 PM »
I just saw, courtesy of TCM, Barry Levinson's Diner (1982) and Avalon (1990). Second time for both. Both are very good movies. I'd say 8/10 for Diner and 9/10 for Avalon. I just found this 2012 article from Vanity Fair which credits Diner for being the forerunner for movies/shows from Pulp Fiction to Seinfeld, i.e., not really about anything but just talking, great dialogue. I have no idea if that's true, but it's an enjoyable movie with good performances all around, from then-young actors including Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Ellen Barkin, Tim Daly and Paul Reiser. Avalon is a generational story, about a family chasing the American dream, from about 1945 till around the early 70's. It happens to be a Jewish family in Baltimore, whose older generation arrived from Europe, but as I wrote when I first saw this movie in 2014 http://www.fistful-of-leone.com/forums/index.php?topic=7645.msg173678#msg173678 , this movie is not particularly Jewish and not even particularly immigrant; the issues aren't really the struggles to adapt to a new land, but just family issues that could probably be just as relevant to a WASP American family. Mild spoilers aheadAvalon may be one of the saddest movies you'll ever see ? with the interesting premise that television is responsible for the breakdown of the family structure  )
2
« on: March 02, 2021, 09:38:15 PM »
5
« on: March 02, 2021, 09:31:30 PM »
I found this to be possibly the worst-acted film of all time. Richard Wright is merely mediocre. It's almost the entire rest of the cast (or their dubbers) who are awful.
6
« on: February 23, 2021, 08:27:38 PM »
It's been years since I've seen this, but I completely agree with you -- though I don't remember the photography being very cinematic. To me, Kazan's movies are incredibly stagy, and not cinematic in the least. And while the acting was influential and different for its time, I don't believe it has aged well outside of moments like the car scene with Brando and Steiger, which is much more understated than the typical hammy stage acting found in Kazan's movies. I also don't appreciate actors like Mitchum, Cooper, Stanwyck, etc etc being indirectly trashed by those that think that Brando and Kazan invented film acting.
Of all the so-called greats of the classic era, Kazan is far and away my least favorite. A Face in the Crowd and East of Eden are the only movies of his that I would re-watch. I can see the influence on Scorsese, but that doesn't mean that I enjoy the overwhelming majority of his stuff.
I can appreciate Brando as well as classic actors. I disagree with you on Kazan. A Streetcar Named Desire is one of my very favorite movies of all-time, which I re-watch frequently.
7
« on: February 22, 2021, 08:35:39 PM »
Baby Doll (1956) - 3/10. Wow, what a great looking blu-ray, and wow, what a wretched film. Boris Kaufman's photography is amazing, and Kazan's direction can't be faulted. The failure lies with Tennessee Williams' dull, dull, script. Three idiotic characters talk and talk and talk about things I care nothing about. Couldn't wait for this one to end.
The story ain?t great, but with a performance like that from Wallach (I believe his first movie role, BTW), and also Karl Malden, 3/10 seems low
8
« on: February 18, 2021, 03:36:09 PM »
9
« on: February 17, 2021, 02:36:21 PM »
10
« on: February 03, 2021, 03:21:49 PM »
Given that the decision was unanimous, it's clear the German heirs were seeking redress in an improper venue. The court merely asserted the obvious. Which means that headline is absolute horseshit. The court has sided with no one. What is it about journalists that makes me want to see them all whipped?
In the matter that was being disputed here, the Supreme Court did side with the German government. The heirs argued that they could sue in U.S. court; the German gov't argued that they couldn't. The Supreme Court ruled for the German gov't in this issue. The appropriateness of the art sale was not the issue at hand. In the issue at hand, the court absolutely sided the German gov't. I see that as an accurate headline. If the headline had said "U.S. Supreme Court Rules German Heirs Can't Bring Art Lawsuit Against German Government in U.S. Court," that would have been more detailed, but unnecessarily so. I think this headline is fine.
11
« on: February 03, 2021, 01:52:25 PM »
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a case involving the descendants of a group of Jewish art dealers from Germany who say their ancestors were forced to sell a collection of religious art to the Nazi government in 1935.
https://apnews.com/3fe60cf650bee8997d7f091fe2e8d84e
Supreme Court sides with Germany in Nazi-era art disputehttps://apnews.com/article/business-us-supreme-court-lawsuits-courts-04734dea5cde6abc412da38d3ff7faa2The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the heirs of German citizens couldn't sue the German government in U.S. courts. It may be the correct ruling legally, but if the German government wanted to do the right thing, it would return the art. But who expects the German government to do the right thing?
12
« on: February 02, 2021, 06:12:10 PM »
I believe Central Park got something like 18.4 inches, making this one of the top 10 snowstorms in New York (since 1869). Then it actually snowed again today, but not much.
13
« on: February 02, 2021, 11:45:33 AM »
8.5 is very good on my rating scale. But I haven't said it's one of the best films ever, it isn't. I said it was incredibly well crafted. It's one of the best crafted films ever.
The editing is groundbreaking, the acting is top notch, the dialogues are (most of the time) terrific, it's very rewatchable.
8.5 is very good on my scale too. But you speak of this as one of the very greatest Scorsese films ever (except of course, The Irishman, which is your favorite movie of all time after The Patriot.) Personally, I think an 8.5/10 rating is appropriate for The Departed (I believe I gave it an 8/10 myself). can you list which Scorsese movies you think are better than The Departed, along with their ratings? p.s. I think we should rename this thread "Rate The Last Scorsese Movie You Saw"
14
« on: February 02, 2021, 09:45:12 AM »
All this The Departed talk led me to...
The Departed (2006) 8.5/10
First watch in a long time. This is really good. Really good. And what a terrific editing.
Also, yes, the ligthing/color grading isn't good. Which is true for most of the Martin Scorsese films done in the 2000's (the curse ended with 2013's Wolf of Wall Street).
you speak about this movie like it's one of the greatest ever, then only give it an 8.5/10? 
15
« on: February 01, 2021, 09:05:14 AM »
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