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Yup agreed, I wonder if anyone else will comment on that?
The Women Directors Hall of Fame
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I definitely noticed the opening credits rolling over the action, but the only thing I thought was that it was strange. It never occurred to me that I was missing a beautiful shot because, while a very good movie, I thought it looked extremely average.
I thought the cinematography was amazing for the subject matter as it was both simple and effective. There's no artsy shots that I recall, but...the shots were very effective and contributed to the emotions of the scene. So I would call that amazing cinematography.
My favorite shot (or I should say the shot that had they biggest visual impact on me) was the long, slow march up the hill to the scaffolding to be hung. Damn! the long shot down from behind really such in the reality of the moment. That didn't look like a movie, that looked frightfully real.
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I think it was filmed very well but that it looked plain. I think plain and in black-and-white was the proper look for the movie, but I wouldn't call that good cinematography.
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I think it was filmed very well but that it looked plain. I think plain and in black-and-white was the proper look for the movie, but I wouldn't call that good cinematography.
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Morvern Callar
I can 100% see why people might hate this. For the first fifteen minutes or so I thought I was going to hate it.
And then there were a couple of shots so perfectly framed, and then the bit where she walks into the supermarket I just thought were brilliant.
So: the dead body in the flat. There’s almost a sort of morbid humour there, and at the same time I thought it was a good metaphor for how the dead person is a presence in the home of the grieving person, so that it’s like you’re walking over them every time you walk around your house, I thought that was good. And then her chopping up the body and burying it was her attempt to deal with it, if you follow the metaphor through. It’s not realistic or plausible because that’s not what its going for.
In some ways she’s like the ghost, silent at the New Year’s Eve party, covered with flour and shaking in the kitchen, staring vacantly in the distance.
As for the novel, I didn’t think of it as stealing. He wasn’t exactly going to miss it, and who else should the rights belong to but his wife? She did look very carefully at the phrase ‘I wrote it for you’ before changing the name, either she came to the interpretation that it was hers to do with as she wished, or tried to pretend that she had. Perhaps she thought she was owed it, or it was an act of revenge for him leaving her in that situation.
I had a feeling Morvern was going to do something to betray Lanna when she kept going on about how great a friend she was at the beach. But Lanna’s pursuit of hedonism doesn’t always leave much room for Morvern either and she didn’t stop moaning so I’m not really surprised Morvern would leave her. Technically, Lanna left her first. And she didn’t seem that bothered about it when they met up again,
There were some bits that stood out as being a bit tedious, like the endless clubbing and Morvern looking at a worm or touching the soil, sections where not much happens. I didn’t really enjoy the bull-fighting section, I didn’t quite see the purpose of it and to me it went downhill a bit from there and just didn’t really go anywhere or say anything else which was a bit disappointing.
Morvern’s meeting with the publishers didn’t quite ring true to me. The publishers seemed really stupid, laughing t everything she said as if it were a joke. Why on earth wouldn’t she work in a supermarket? Do they not think first time writers have actual jobs? I also didn’t get her taking them to the cemetery, I think that might have worked better if she had been on her own.
What happens next for Morvern? She’s got a bit of money, but not exactly a fortune, she’s still looking blank while clubbing, but now with no friends. I liked the song which suggested she was still thinking about ‘Him’ (as he’s credited) but there wasn’t much sense of either progress or movement.
The acting I thought was very good, Samantha Morton is always good and is excellent as Morvern, and her friend was good too and their interactions felt natural. There are also a couple of faces familiar from TV who crop up in supporting roles.
I can 100% see why people might hate this. For the first fifteen minutes or so I thought I was going to hate it.
And then there were a couple of shots so perfectly framed, and then the bit where she walks into the supermarket I just thought were brilliant.
So: the dead body in the flat. There’s almost a sort of morbid humour there, and at the same time I thought it was a good metaphor for how the dead person is a presence in the home of the grieving person, so that it’s like you’re walking over them every time you walk around your house, I thought that was good. And then her chopping up the body and burying it was her attempt to deal with it, if you follow the metaphor through. It’s not realistic or plausible because that’s not what its going for.
In some ways she’s like the ghost, silent at the New Year’s Eve party, covered with flour and shaking in the kitchen, staring vacantly in the distance.
As for the novel, I didn’t think of it as stealing. He wasn’t exactly going to miss it, and who else should the rights belong to but his wife? She did look very carefully at the phrase ‘I wrote it for you’ before changing the name, either she came to the interpretation that it was hers to do with as she wished, or tried to pretend that she had. Perhaps she thought she was owed it, or it was an act of revenge for him leaving her in that situation.
I had a feeling Morvern was going to do something to betray Lanna when she kept going on about how great a friend she was at the beach. But Lanna’s pursuit of hedonism doesn’t always leave much room for Morvern either and she didn’t stop moaning so I’m not really surprised Morvern would leave her. Technically, Lanna left her first. And she didn’t seem that bothered about it when they met up again,
There were some bits that stood out as being a bit tedious, like the endless clubbing and Morvern looking at a worm or touching the soil, sections where not much happens. I didn’t really enjoy the bull-fighting section, I didn’t quite see the purpose of it and to me it went downhill a bit from there and just didn’t really go anywhere or say anything else which was a bit disappointing.
Morvern’s meeting with the publishers didn’t quite ring true to me. The publishers seemed really stupid, laughing t everything she said as if it were a joke. Why on earth wouldn’t she work in a supermarket? Do they not think first time writers have actual jobs? I also didn’t get her taking them to the cemetery, I think that might have worked better if she had been on her own.
What happens next for Morvern? She’s got a bit of money, but not exactly a fortune, she’s still looking blank while clubbing, but now with no friends. I liked the song which suggested she was still thinking about ‘Him’ (as he’s credited) but there wasn’t much sense of either progress or movement.
The acting I thought was very good, Samantha Morton is always good and is excellent as Morvern, and her friend was good too and their interactions felt natural. There are also a couple of faces familiar from TV who crop up in supporting roles.
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Little Women
Like i told Citizen i've never seen a Little Women adaptation but i did read the novel when i was very young. Going in i only remembered most of the big moments, i thought unless there was something particularly awful about the film there was very little chance i'd dislike it. At the same time i didn't expect to think too highly of it, was expecting a nice easy watch and a good refresher on the story not much more. To my surprise i liked this a lot, maybe i was in the right type of cozy, sentimental mood, maybe it was leftover christmas feeling, most likely though it's just because it is a very good adaptation of a nice story.
They did such a good job on the casting, Susan Sarandon for instance is a very middle of the road actress to me i don't have a strong opinion on her either way, she was completely perfect as Marmee March though. She has a non threatening warm personality, or at least that's what i usually get from her in films and it couldn't have worked out better here. She basically sold the corniness of her character perfectly haha. Winona Ryder was so great in the 80's and 90's, feel kinda bad saying "was" but that's how i feel it's a shame where her career has went. Even in Stranger Things she feels so weird and unnecessary, in the 90's she seemed to be awesome in a lot of bad and mediocre films. Jo is the most interesting of the girls being the independent one who doesn't want to follow the woman's "role" during this era, she is kind of typical except not since Walcott's Jo is largely an inspiration for this sort of character we see in later media. That's the exact vibe i always got from Winona growing up; someone different in stuff like Beetlejuice and Heathers so she was exactly right for this. My god i had no clue that was Claire Danes playing Beth until she gets the piano
. Either she's a chameleon or i'm a moron, i'll let you guys decide. She was very good in that scene she really made the warmth with her overwhelmed response to overcoming that ordeal and being able to spend more time with her family. Then Christian Bale, what in the world? I had no idea he was in this and it's insane to me that he was around in well known films like this back then. In my mind it was Empire of the Sun then nothing for fifteen years until American Psycho. He's fine in this nothing great but he does his job and he is pretty charming at times. The biggest complaint i have about the acting is sometimes the accents come on and off and some just aren't that good, it really didn't bother me other than in a few moments though so no big deal. I definitely don't think this is some masterclass but it's a talented cast doing a good job and while nothing blows me away it's all just enough for everything to work. The most important thing was they felt like a family and they really sold the growing up aspects. Anyway sorry for such a boring, generic review, even more than usual haha. I struggled to find anything interesting to say i just kind of sat back and had a good time with it, think it caught me in the exact right mood and it's well done. To my surprise this has a good shot of ending up high on my list. Thanks for nominating Citizen, seriously doubt i would have watched this and i ended up really enjoying it.
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As for the novel, I didn’t think of it as stealing. He wasn’t exactly going to miss it, and who else should the rights belong to but his wife? She did look very carefully at the phrase ‘I wrote it for you’ before changing the name, either she came to the interpretation that it was hers to do with as she wished, or tried to pretend that she had. Perhaps she thought she was owed it, or it was an act of revenge for him leaving her in that situation.
I disagree with this. It wasn't just the rights she was taking it was the authorship, she was passing it off as her work, her thoughts, with no credit to him for his work. The profits were obviously going to go to her anyway so her taking authorship too was something extra, and that's when she decides to dispose of the body, suspect timing to say the least. To me him leaving his name on it and the book being such a big part of his last statement showed that it meant a lot to him and that he would have liked to be remembered for it. I think she looked at it very carefully because she was about to do something nasty and wrong and messed up, she was probably having second thoughts before just going through with it. It's stealing because he wrote it and wanted it published in his name, dead or alive it was still his work.
Revenge is what i think it was i said that a few times earlier.
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Looks like me, Thursday and Citizen will join Cricket as finished soon 
It is looking really top heavy though so hopefully a few of the others will start joining in.
Next is The Last Supper for me, then i have The Ascent and Orlando left.
It is looking really top heavy though so hopefully a few of the others will start joining in.Next is The Last Supper for me, then i have The Ascent and Orlando left.
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I'm hoping to watch Europa Europa tonight. Then I'll only have Cricket's and Thursday's noms left. And no I wasn't saving them for the last for any specific reason, that's just how it turned out.
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Nothing Bad Can Happen (Katrin Gebbe, 2013)
In the first hour I was totally into the movie, and I was thinking this would be a favorite of mine. I loved the subject matter of exploring the idea of how strong Tore's faith was, and of him believing all the crap that happened to him was a test and that to prove his faith he had to endure all of the crap, and without fighting back. That was a fresh idea and the movie at first explored it well. But only up to a point.
After 1 hour it crossed over into schmucky horror film. If this had been a dark comedy, well OK it might have worked, but once they did the old and tired kill a pet to prove your a bad ass bit, I started rolling my eyes. Then with the scene of forcing him to eat a maggot infested rotting chicken, the film lost me. I can't even begin to image how the film makers could kill such a good idea with cheeso horror stuff in the third act. It was all so brilliant and playing out like a realistic docu-drama then all of sudden the family from hell along with their hellish friends decide to torture the kid, but why? Totally unbelievable and ruined a perfectly good movie for me.
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but once they did the old and tired kill a pet to prove your a bad ass bit, .
Get your reaction though.
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The reason it's so disturbing to me is because it is believable real life horror.
This is all i've found on it from an interview with the director:
Nothing Bad Can Happen is an uncompromising film about humanity's darkness. Can you tell us a little bit about what made you want to tell this story?
Tore Tanzt (Nothing Bad Can Happen) is inspired by true events. I found an internet article and couldn’t stop thinking about the maltreated boy, a good person who meets the wrong friends… The characters deeply touched me. Why was that boy described as a "retarded victim" while the abusers were called "monsters"? It was so far away from life. And I felt there would be so many themes to discover – about relationships, guilt, desire, belief, idealism, love, bravery… I was searching for more than an easy explanation.
Tore Tanzt (Nothing Bad Can Happen) is inspired by true events. I found an internet article and couldn’t stop thinking about the maltreated boy, a good person who meets the wrong friends… The characters deeply touched me. Why was that boy described as a "retarded victim" while the abusers were called "monsters"? It was so far away from life. And I felt there would be so many themes to discover – about relationships, guilt, desire, belief, idealism, love, bravery… I was searching for more than an easy explanation.
Everything else i've found is reviews that mention the same thing: Gebbe based it on an internet article. "Internet Article" is so vague, i'm skeptical tbh.
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Actually it sounds like straight up bs to me:
http://www.laweekly.com/film/nothing...-jesus-4811101
Why would she not give specifics? I don't believe her. It reminds me of the case An American Crime and Girl Next Door are based on.
In interviews, and in the opening credits of the film, Gebbe claims that Nothing Bad Can Happen is based on true events. She's never given specifics and must have taken so many liberties with the story that it's impossible to turn up the real case. No matter.
Why would she not give specifics? I don't believe her. It reminds me of the case An American Crime and Girl Next Door are based on.
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I couldn't find anything either, but I still find the movie very believable.
Senseless torture and murder of a harmless youth with no rhyme or reason. Neighbours and friends taking part in the abuse, a number of people witnessing it and not trying to help or inform the authorities. Even the "new family" angle is similar but it's under different circumstances, Likens had a family and was left with that monster for some reason. The only part missing is christianity basically.
There's another one that happened in the UK which was pretty much the same thing, it was when i was very young in like 2000 or 2001 probably. So that sort of thing happens. People are awful.
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The reason it's so disturbing to me is because it is believable real life horror.
But in the bedroom scene at the end, she gleefully tortures this boy who had been like a family member. I don't buy it. Same with the family friends who willingly participant in murder, especially the blonde woman, who earlier her and her husband had shown true concern for the condition of the boy.
The film started out with great promise, but like so many other movies, the film makers thought they needed to end 'BIG'. So many movies are ruined in the third act by them going way over the top for an ending. And that's what happened here...the real terror is the psychological terror of the husband who's a control freak. That alone was more than enough to generate the emotions the film wanted to do. The way it went over the top to entertain, reminds me of American Psycho. The film makers didn't trust the audience so went for the big fireworks. Less is more, less would have been more powerful. I really wanted to like this one, I don't enjoy hating on films.
I don't think he did it to show he's a bad ass. He did it because Tore had a rapport with animals (always playing with them and making animal calls and stuff) and at that point they were one of the few things keeping him going, so he did it to further break his spirit which was why he did everything. To break his spirit and test his faith that he found absurd. That's what i thought anyway.
Get your reaction though.
Get your reaction though.
Last edited by Citizen Rules; 01-10-18 at 01:58 PM.
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There's just so many sickos out there that you see on the News, I can buy into just about anything as long as it's possible.
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Little Women
“Over the mysteries of female life there is drawn a veil, best left undisturbed.” - John Brooke
“Over the mysteries of female life there is drawn a veil, best left undisturbed.” - John Brooke
When I was young I devoured Louisa M. Alcott’s books, the Little Women series and all the rest. Of course I wanted to be Jo! As someone who enjoyed the books I think this is a thoroughly satisfying adaptation, probably the best there is. Over Christmas I watched a new TV-version, with Maya Hawke as Jo, and it was good too, but really made me want to watch this one again. It’s not a Christmas films exactly, but it has several significant Christmases, complete with carol singing.
This is such a warm, comforting film - but I’m almost afraid that describing it like that diminishes it somehow. It’s not all jolly holidays, there is death and hardship as well - but why does a film need ‘grit’ to be good anyway? There's a quiet power in films of relationships, growing up and self-realisation too.
I really feel like the film captures the small mannerisms and interactions that make the characters and their relationships rather than just rattling through the plot - little things like Meg embarrassed by Marmee talking about corsets, or Jo’s awkwardness in company, always remembering Meg’s instructions a second too late. And the way in which each of the March girls have a different position in the family, a different relationship with each other and with Laurie. It also does a really good job of conveying the story and wider context without always showing everything, and I like the ways the stories overlap. I feel like old Mr Lawrence could have had a little bit of a bigger role, and they cut out Meg’s indecision over her engagement and the way Aunt March forces the issue in the book, which makes it feel a bit too placid and undramatic.
Winona Ryder IS Jo March, she’s just brilliant. The supporting cast are good, too, particularly Kirsten Dunst as young Amy (what a brat!). Christian Bale has a great boyish charm as Laurie as well.
WARNING: "Little Women" spoilers below
It always bothered me when I was younger that Jo and Laurie don’t end up together, but Gabriel Byrne’s portrayal almost reconciles me to her marrying Professor Bhaer!
The film looks good, especially the snowy landscapes and the music suits it well.
Incidentally, in German, this movie is called ‘Betty and her Sisters’, for some reason.
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