New thread, old news.

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I see them both as flip sides of the same quirky, pop culture-obsessed, Woody Allen-romantic-comedy-love-letter-to-NYC. And I love Annie Hall's inventive, fractured take on comedy. I don't, I suppose, find his attempt at realism as powerful.

Have you seen Crimes and Misdemeanors?

defiance. i enjoyed it. (as much as you can say you "enjoyed" a movie about the holocaust.) but now i really want to read the book so i can get the real story.

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Originally posted by TheFalloness:

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I see them both as flip sides of the same quirky, pop culture-obsessed, Woody Allen-romantic-comedy-love-letter-to-NYC. And I love Annie Hall's inventive, fractured take on comedy. I don't, I suppose, find his attempt at realism as powerful.

Have you seen Crimes and Misdemeanors?

Nope. I'd like to see it, as well as The Purple Rose of Cairo.

Damn. I was going to lay claim to this thread when the old one got locked. Damn you, tiny evil munchkin. Damn you!

Bert: Quit bitching and go watch TCM. Ingmar Bergman triple feature starting NOW!

My TV hasn't been hooked up in months. I'm downloading your quiz at the moment.

I KNOW you've seen at least one of those films, and I'd strongly recommend at least one more to you.

Oh, the last movie I watched was the animated Clone Wars movie from last year. It was better than any of the last three Star Wars films, save for moments at the end of Sith.

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Originally posted by Bert Fischer:
Oh, the last movie I watched was the animated Clone Wars movie from last year. It was better than any of the last three Star Wars films, save for moments at the end of Sith.

Ye forgot the Darth Maul 1 on 2 fight from Ep. 1. Ahoy there, Bert.

Drag Me to Hell.

The reviews are a little over the top. It is a fairly entertaining little Raimi movie. Could have been a lot better, could have been a lot worse. Had moments.

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The reviews are a little over the top.

I haven't read any, are they superpositive or supernegative?

I damn near loved the thing. Great fun.

Eh, the Darth Maul duel doesn't thrill me so much. Qui-Gonn was the best character by far from the modern trilogy, and I didn't care for how easily he was disposed of.

I actually like everything in Episode I up to the landing on Naboo. Unfortunately that's what, ten minutes?

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Originally posted by TheFalloness:

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The reviews are a little over the top.

I haven't read any, are they superpositive or supernegative?

I damn near loved the thing. Great fun.

I wanna see it, but I don't have high expectations.

It's twice as good as you expect it to be. It's totally a throwback to the Evil Dead flicks.

Reposting this here, as I'm curious if anyone else (iBee?) has an opinion on this film:

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Burnt by the Sun (1994): A fascinating film from Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov, which follows a day in the life of an eclectic family just before Stalin's Great Purge. The methodical way in which the film's inevitable, dark core unravels itself is quite powerful, filled with moving interations and haunting shots. Still, the director's lack of subtlety can, at times, be bothersome -- the recurring visual representation of the title, for example, or the endless focus on childhood innocence amid lurking evil.

What happened to the old thread?

The Seventh Seal

In all of cinema, I don't know that I personally identify with any single fictional character more than I do with Gunnar Bjoernstrand's Jons, the squire to Max von Sydow's knight returning from the crusades. He is a pragmatic man, full of tavern wisdom and dry humor. I am always taken about by just how funny this film actually is, especially when you consider it's reputation. I mean, just look at the cover art of the new DVD: all black, with Max von Sydow's anguished face looking down. But I laugh out loud when I watch this film. Every character, with the exception of von Sydow's knight, plays like the movie is a black comedy. Look at the scene where a man climbs a tree to escape danger, and we see death at the bottom with a saw.

But back to Jons. Throughout the film, the knight is tortured at the seeming absence of God, or even the devil. He is tortured, even as Death carries on conversations with him. This has always seemed odd to me. And then there is Jons, content in - or at least surrendered to - ignorance. He is not a stupid man, as he shows time and again through the film he understands people better than any other character in the movie, but he knows that it is folly to ask unanswerable questions. Gunnar Bjoernstrand's performance is brilliant.

Such a great film.

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Originally posted by TheFalloness:
It's twice as good as you expect it to be. It's totally a throwback to the Evil Dead flicks.

No it was not. For Raimi to return to the fun-horror genre, I expected much MORE than what I got. It is a throwback, sure, but not necessarily a well-done throwback. Justin long is abysmal in it. Alison Lohman is annoying as all get-out. The Indian medium dude was awful. The best actor in the entire movie is the old gypsy lady, by a MILE. There is no one NEARLY as charming as Bruce Campbell anywhere near the screen in this pic. The humour was meh, at best, except for the few grossouts involving the old lady. No spoilers here, but the ending was BRUTAL as in brutal BAD not BRUTAL awesome. Aside from some good fights with the old lady and some pretty good shocking jump (halfway) out of your seat part, the whole movie was quite weak and in my honest opinion, only Raimi FANS will get a (relatively small) kick out of it.

To answer Bert, as always, the critics were over the top in that they called it an exhilirating thrill ride, the best horro picture in years, all the usual stuff. It really ends up reading like a bunch of nerds with obvious love for Raimi fawning over the closest thing he has made to a good scary flick in a LOOOOONGG time.

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Originally posted by TheFalloness:
Gunnar Bjoernstrand's performance is brilliant.

Gunnar Bjornstrand is always great. He's one of my favorite male actors.