Slay's Reviews

It's always interesting to see what movies you come up with Slay... Quite the opposite of my pickings Solid cast on that one... I'll definitely try to pick it up tomorrow while I'm out.

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Toefuzz.com - Movie reviews and quotes for those of us fortunate enough to not have our heads shoved up overly critical rectums!

My Top 100 favorite movies.

Jeez...I didn't notice that so many people replied after I left this thread for dead.

I'm glad you liked that line, Pimp. It does sum the film up pretty much, doesn't it? Did you actually like the movie?

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"Today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."

I hope you do, Garrett. I don’t know if you’ve seen many Sayles’ films or not, but I’m pretty sure you’re one to appreciate them.

I would really like it if you did. I’d like to see what your opinion of it would be like.

I've seen a few (Baby It's You, The Secret of Roan Inish, Silver City), and had the opportunity to meet him last year. So, yeah, I'll certainly check this one out.

We were all going through LordyLord withdrawal, so get to it Write REVIEWS now

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Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

I just posted a new one tonight, Nibbles.

Ummmmm Errrrrrrrr I just found them.

Oh Lordylord, I am in heaven you are back.

Meet him?!?!?!? Do tell.

THERE you are!

nice review milord...i will have to find this one and sit down to watch

I'm really glad you liked this one Brian. I'm not sure there's anything I can add to your excellent review, but one of the many things I really love about this movie is the "shape" of the story. The way it starts out as this really wonderfully illustrated crossection of a culture and progresses seamlessly to really very frightening and intenesly personal territory. I also really like the end Sayles uses his technique to; slowly and methodically leading the audience into less and less familiar areas of his imagination as a way of getting us to invest in his risks, some of which are really shocking. The dialog may be the the most natural-sounding Sayles has written. Each character has their own voice and each colors the narrative in their own way. This film also has one of the best opening sequences and one of the best endings for any movie I've seen, which is a rare treat. Everyone should follow Slaytan's advice and see this movie.

Yup, top notch Clockwork review, and one of my top 10 films.


Recently did the big uber-watch on this one, taking it in a few times in one week. I got to thinking about how 2001 and A Clockwork Orange are connected and how Kubrick flowed from one film into the next visually and thematically. The final shot into the eye of the mutant space child in 2001, only to float out of the eye of the mutant child, fully grown, and twisted by man, that middle rung on the Neitzsche ladder that Kubrick is so fascinated with. After watching Odysseus (Dave BOWman) battle the cyclops, and finally transcend to the next rung, we are thrust into a nightmare future where the potential superman has been warped and twisted by the flawed passage through the phase of man. These two films are so deep, so brilliant, I look forward to uncovering more secrets from them as time goes on. I also notice the final scene of Clockwork, with onlookers dressed in gaudy 18th century clothing, applauding the not-s0=civilised man that we have learned society so desperately needs. The perfect segue into his next film, set in the most civilised 1800s of course....

Big props Bri...

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Stayed home from work today to sleep (18 hours straight!) and took in Limbo upon waking up... Perhaps I wasn't in the best mood to watch, but overall I found it to be just 'okay'. As you said, the directing and acting are top-notch, I just didn't particularly care for any of the characters which made me in turn bored by much of the movie. Perhaps it's b/c I've never had similar experiences of loss in my life? Not sure, just wasn't that interested.

Thank you, Suzi-Q! I hope you do and like it, hell, love it.

I think I understand what you mean, bro. When the scene inside the bar happens, and all the locals are telling their stories with the tour guide behind them telling the more historical stories of the town, Sayles really shows the difference of the reality of a culture and the falsehood of a culture turned into entertainment for tourists. It really shows that you cannot completely know anything about a people unless you actually spend some serious time partaking in the culture personally. It’s like an American saying they understand a Palestinian viewpoint because they can ‘imagine’ what it would be like. Yet, without actually living with Palestinians, there is no real ‘knowing’…and even then, it may only be a rudimentary understanding. But then, like you said, it switches gears seamlessly and turns into a very personal story about the three main characters. The culture doesn’t become a factor anymore; it’s just them…and the wilderness.

The risks being taken are so valuable in regards to human nature too. It’s not like a risk of putting ones neck in the noose, though there is some of that, but the risk of rejoining humanity. To not necessarily trust fate, but to achieve a level of acceptance that there’s no control over it, and to live enough to just go along for the ride. Joe’s transformation is the most powerful since it’s because of Donna that he decides to make this acceptance. Love conquers all after all.

I love the way that Joe’s main form of communication is expressive rather than vocal. There are a lot of scenes where he only has 20 to 30 words to speak, but with those, he speaks volumes. And Noel…don’t get me started. Like I said in my review, she’s my favorite character. Her ‘voice’ is one that I think anyone can relate to, and she expresses it so well. Sayles’ writing in this film, in regards to the dialogue, is poignant and poetic in its simplicity and complication. It’s just another aspect of how this film really is more than what meets the eye…that everything about it is amazingly deep and profound and all about human nature.

The opening sequence is cool, but I’m not exactly sure about what it is that you like so much. I know that it pulls you into thinking that what you are about to see is pretty straight forward, but it’s really just an appetizer to what follows. As far as the ending…it’s friggin’ brilliant. Any other ending would be a cop out…or a sell out. I think it’s one of the best end sequences as well…and really is the ultimate ‘cherry on top’.

I agree. Slay kicks ass. Thanks for the awesome reply, bud. I appreciate it. And everyone else, I never would have seen this film, or at least not for a long time, if it wasn’t for linespalsy recommending it to me. Linespalsy kicks ass too!

Thanks a lot, buddy. I’m glad you liked it, considering how much you love the film. If you feel that I did well, I guess I did.

Do you ever think that thematically most of Kubrick's films center on the natural arrogance and ignorance of man? Mans belief that we have all the answers, when in fact, we are always in a state of learning, and may never know the truth about half the things that we believe we’ve already mastered?

Okay…I’m not all that familiar with Nietzsche’s philosophies, so maybe you can elaborate on that. I also am not sure where you come up with the warped and twisted part. Are you talking about Alex, or about Bowman? Because I don’t see anything flawed with the Starchild at all. He/It is transcendental. Or are you talking about Alex becoming the potential Superman? I’m confused.

I don’t see a real tie in there, but I can see the correlation when it comes to his ending sequence and opening sequence and the times they came out...at least with these three...I think...because it's been at least a year now since I've watched any of them, and I can't remember the exact opening and closing sequences. But. I trust you. Maybe you can enlighten me of the similes of A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon.

Don’t know what to tell you, bro. We can’t all like the same stuff. Hell, I know a couple of people who literally loathe The Godfather. Go figure. Thanks for giving it a shot, tho’. Maybe next time you pick something up because I recommend it, you’ll like it more. Actually, if I may choose your next rental…Wild Strawberries by Ingmar Bergman. I'm curious if you'll like it.



BTW Garrett: Where and when did you meet John Sayles? Don't leave me hangin' here.

No, No, it can't be true.

I baffled myself with that post . Think i was trying to say that power and its application is a funny old thing .

Yep. Things ain't all electric-switch darkness . But Kubrick's still right to emphasise the shrill end of the scale, concerning that duet you speak of, methinks .

Heh, yeah. I'm guessing our little slap-happy scallywags will be undone by their self-aggrandaising use of technology too.

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Virtual Reality chatter on a movie site? Got endless amounts of it here. Reviews over here

Yes. Yes, it most certainly is true.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely?

Marry me. Wait…never mind.

Serves the little Bastards right.

great reviews! Did you ever think about rating the films using a star system or a letter grade? When I read a review ( or write one ) that always seems to make it more complete. That way it gives a clear view of exactly how much you liked the movie or can also help people quickly decide which reviews to read if they are short on time. Just a suggestion.

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"Like all dreamers, Steven mistook disenchantment for truth."

I used to, but then I changed. If you check out my first review thread, you'll see I did it for all of them, but now, I'd rather people actually read my review to see whether I liked it or not...and to be perfectly honest, I don't write reviews for films I don't like anymore. My motive is to try and sell a movie to people. Limbo, in particular, has not been seen by hardly anyone on this board...I know of only three who have. But maybe I talked someone else into seeing this wonderful film.

Thanks for the comments...and check out my other thread...I always like to hear what people think.

I'm glad you're sticking around.

I have been talking to Chris about streamlining the user reviews and trying to standardize a system of ratings ets, probably the popcorn boxes the site uses. Excellent input on the negative for that Slay, and I will keep it in mind. Actually, I would like to get some input from some of the reviewers who tend to post reviews frequently (Sammy, LS, Mosey etc...) as the review guidelines should please all involved. I mean if we come to the conclusion that there shouldn't be any guidelines, that is fine.

Some of the things I have considered:

-Standardized rating system, which I just mentioned.

-A different way of indexing the reviews, by film, rather than reviewer, as many newer members claim to have trouble finding reviews for any given fim now that we have consolidated them into personal threads. For instance, If I wanted to read reviews on the film To Live, I would input the fim into search. The engine would then report that To was too short to include and find all the posts with the word live in it. You can see the problem here. Even if the user did get pointed to Slay or my thread (we both reviewed the film), they would still have to comb through the entire thread to find the review. Not an easy task given the length of Slay's thread. So, a by-film system could be nice, but I can;t come up with a system that seems both efficient and easily organized.

- Now, for the downside of my last point. I can't count how many films I have been turned on to because I was forced to comb through a thread. The random exposure to great film would go down considerably with a by-film system. What needs to be decided is which is more important, and what many other members feel about the issue. If a majority of the people are irritated by the fact that they can't just search for a film and fins a review (ala Rotten Tomatoes), than I think a change is in order, but I would really like to perserve the "wow, I am so glad I read about XXXXXX because I really loved the film and never would have picked it up otherwise."


these are my main concerns, and input on these issues is requested.

Yoda will need to chime in here, as he knows what can be done and how much work it would be (for him) to do it....