Equipose, we know you're a movie snob, get over yourself

The BBQ Pit
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Thank you for the 1st paragraph but come on, allow me some context. When I went through my brief but apparently memorable Attack The Block obsession last summer it was being taken around the country and being shown to select audiences by director Joe Cornish and star John Boyega (who, mark my words, will be a big star someday). It was in severely limited release and the distribution company had no marketing budget for the film. The most theaters it ever played in at one time was 66.

During its limited release it was head to head up against the $230,000,000 Cowboys and Aliens, whose catering budget alone probably cost more than Attack The Block. Cowboys and Aliens, considered a massive flop, made more than double in its first day than ATB made in its whole run, worldwide. My posting a thread about it and mentioning it a few other times in other threads is nothing compared to the endless TV and radio spots, magazine ads and articles, and billboards that Cowboys and Aliens got. I believe that ATB is the one that will endure as a genre classic, a strictly word-of-mouth film.

I’m not the only one who liked it, you know. It’s still at 90% at Rotten Tomatoes.

I like you guys, I really do, but damn, what Inner Sticker said.

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The only relevant thing I can think about in relation to Attack the Block is that it’s the only movie set in London in the past decade not directed by Guy Ritchie and not featuring Noel Clarke or Michael Caine that I can think of. Well, apart from Wild Bill.

Oh, also, what do you think about In the Heat of the Night? I think it’s my favourite film.

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I haven’t seen it since the 80’s, and then only on TV. I remember thinking it was really good. If someone brought it back as part of a retrospective I’d like to see it on the big screen. That cast is amazing: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates, Lee Grant.

As long as this is bumped, for those who think I like everything (one of the sillier criticisms in this thread), I’ll have you know that I saw two, not one but TWO movies yesterday I didn’t like. They are, for the curious, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and Brave. Oh there are cinematic things and moments in both movies I liked a lot, but as a whole, the problems I had with each outweighed the individual things I liked.

In AALBP the incredibly bland lead, the insanely repetitious overuse of bullet-time and the huge gap in time, decades, where the vampires just left Abe alone (Really? After his early years being so tense and exciting and dangerous with vampire killin’ and looking over his shoulder all the time, when he puts away his axe did the vampires just say “Ok, he’s not a threat anymore, lets let him get on with his life” Huh?) bothered me too much.

In Brave, I don’t know where to begin. It had so many great moments, and that hair was awesome, but the overall themes I got (don’t be a rebel, you’ll just get into trouble, and girls should compromise instead of being a pain in the ass), and those horrible, mediocre, bland, faux-Scottish songs were excruciating.
Of course, as in many cases I keep the option open that if I see a movie again I could re-evaluate it and come away with a different impression. That could happen with either movie. I don’t ever set my first impressions in stone. It’s just that I see so many movies I rarely go back and re-visit ones I don’t like. But it’s always a possibility.
Edit to add, what happened to Syme? He said a lot of things I meant to respond to, but never had the time, and now he’s banned. I couldn’t find anything that said why.

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If you message a moderator they’ll tell you about the banning thing. Oh and I remember asking my friend if Nick Frost was Timothy Spall when I saw the trailer for Attack on the Block, lol.

Oh, also, what’re your opinions on All or Nothing and The Hide?

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I haven’t seen either. There are several movies called All or Nothing. Are you talking about the 2002 Mike Leigh film? And I assume The Hide is this 2008 film? They both look good. I’m sorry I missed them. I like every Mike Leigh I have seen.

I didn’t really see that many indie films before 2010. I did see several, but not anywhere near as many as I do now because I worked nights, and couldn’t go to the movies all that often. We’d see the big new releases on the weekend.

Once I got moved to days, and once I discovered the Gene Siskel Film Center membership ($50 a year, but then all movies were $5, though they’re $6 now) and discovered the $5 Mondays Music Box special, then I started to see far more indies, foreign films and classics, especially during March, which is the European Union Film Festival held at the Siskel. I’ve gone NUTS the last couple of years in March. This last March was the wildest movie-going month in my life. I saw 71 movies in the theater during the month: 57 European Union Film Festival films, and 14 non-EUFF movies!. While working full-time. Luckily I have no kids or dogs at home to take care of. It was the most movie-related fun I’ve ever had, other than the year before, where I saw something like 64 movies in the theater. I may not be able to do it next year, but I will if I can.

Still, and this will sound crazy, for as many as I have seen in the last couple of years, I miss far, far more than I see.

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He said his last ‘Chao’, alas, after a shotgun attack of insults.

So when are you going to start an omnibus movie thread in Cafe Society?

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Just got out of 3rd of 3 movies seen today. Thank you Dominick’s for your WiFi while I recharge.

I appreciate the Syme update. I was surprised not to find anything in ATMB.

I’m going to sound really stupid, but I don’t know what you mean. An omnibus thread?

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No, it makes sense. Friend of mine is an out of work actor with rich parents that watches several films daily. Whenever I recommend a film to him, he points out that more films are released daily than he could possibly watch, so he pretty much only watches new releases and award winners.

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Sorry…one thread talking about all the movies you’re seeing + reviews, rather than one-offs.

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I appreciate the suggestion, but no, oh god no. That would just give all the people who don’t like me gallons of fuel for their pitiful little fires. A couple of years ago I started an “Ask the…” (person who sees a lot of movies) thread and got snarked at about it in totally unrelated threads. It’s the first time I’d seen someone comment negatively about someone’s “Ask the…” thread in another thread*. I let the “Ask the…” thread quietly die instead of keeping up with the list of movies as I’d optimistically (and stupidly) intended.

I suppose I could talk about some of the movie I see in this thread. Hey, it’s already in the Pit, so no one would need to Pit me for being a snobbish douche with no life.

Edit to add:

Highly recommended!: Safety Not Guaranteed, Moonrise Kingdom, Bernie, The Intouchables.

Oh, I thought of another recent movie I didn’t care for: Battleship. I thought it would be worthwhile because I like the director, a lot, and I’m a person who keeps up with directors. I was disappointed.

  • up until that time. Now I see there’s something else going on with someone else’s “Ask the…” thread. I’ve never opened the thread in question, let alone read, so it wasn’t on my radar until now.

Speaking of, I really do see all the movies I say I’ve seen and have the movie tickets to prove it. Don’t ask me why I save movie tickets, I just do. They’ll all get thrown out in our next move I’m sure.

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Shit. I hit Edit originally to change that to “movies” and ended up adding some titles, completely forgetting about this. Don’t you hate when that happens?

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Fair enough. But here’s something to get your interest up…

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Bumped, huh? I don’t want you to think I’m ignoring you, so…

It’s been on my radar for a couple of months, since I saw the trailer, saw it starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt and was written and directed by Rian Johnson. I haven’t seen his movie Brick but I enjoyed The Brothers Bloom well enough and I think he’s a director to watch. Looper is just one of many many movies I’m looking forward to seeing in the next 3 months. Next up: The Master by Paul Thomas Anderson opens Friday! I’m a PTA fangirl through and through. I’ve loved everything he’s done so far, with There Will Be Blood my absolute favorite, followed closely by Punch Drunk Love.