A fantastic year for intelligent adult films

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  • #31
    Re: A fantastic year for intelligent adult films

    I'm not sure if Hitchcock was always a "master of suspense"; some of the suspense plots in his movies are a little weak or underwritten and you can see what's coming.

    But I think he was truly a "master of set pieces." Sometimes an otherwise good movie seems lackluster just because it never really gets to a striking, memorable sequence.

    Foreign Correspondent has some great set pieces, and it just came out on a Criterion release after being hard to find on DVD for a while:

    http://www.avclub.com/review/criteri...-corres-201226

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    • #32
      Re: A fantastic year for intelligent adult films

      Originally posted by Dr. Vergerus View Post
      To me, Kurosawa or Bergman are way above Hichcock as filmmakers and auteurs. And the Apartment or Sunset Boulevard are way better than anything Hitchcock made.
      you should check out the films of kenji mizoguchi. he is japan's greatest. allthough the best film ever made is seppuku/hara kiri; spine tingling suspense all the way through, and one of the deepest and most effective critiques of the samurai class. it's a pure masterclass in storytelling as well as directing.

      as for the topic; i find it strange that you say call 2013 a year for intelligent films, then you list so few movies! i assure you 2013 is nothing special in that regard, in fact i would think it was a poor year for good movies. personally i did not see any movies last year that i thought was truly great. only one documentary, called "the act of killing" felt important. "the wolf of wallstreet" was a mess and because of it, lost its way. "american hustle" was nothing special, "nebraska" was just another alexander payne movie. "rush" was okay, but a very straight movie. i donn't know, if you ask me what movie i enjoyed the most in 2013 it would be something like "fast 6", just because it was ridiculous. maybe "the wolf" wins only because it had some cool scenes and funny characters. but it's a poor year in my book.

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      • #33
        Re: A fantastic year for intelligent adult films

        Yes, I've enjoyed some films from Mizoguchi, Ozu and Naruse too. But I still prefer Kurosawa. I like Japanese cinema in general, both classic and contemporary.

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        • #34
          Re: A fantastic year for intelligent adult films

          Bananos: I agree with you about Mizoguchi: especially the brilliant Life of Oharu and Ugetsu from the 50s. Criterion also put out some of his early 30s work and even though the prints aren't very good those are wonderful also. - I think some of Mizoguchi's films can be watched on hulu plus, Criterion offers a lot of their films there.

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          • #35
            Re: A fantastic year for intelligent adult films

            Originally posted by Dr. Vergerus View Post
            That's the thing, it's hard to argue about taste. I wish I liked it instead of being bored by it.
            Here's the thing, though. Whatever you thought of American Hustle, it wasn't "crap". Crap is something that lacks talented execution and intent. AH wasn't that. The Director had something specific in mind and he steered the ship all the way there. All of the technical elements ranged from good to excellent. The acting ranged from good to fantastic. So, no it wasn't crap.

            What aspiring writers need to do is be able to look at something and understand that, though they don't like it, it may have even bored them, that doesn't mean it's bad.

            Personally, I'm bored to tears by almost everything that Marvel has put out. Does that mean it's crap? No. No way. I just don't like it, there's a big difference.

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            • #36
              Re: A fantastic year for intelligent adult films

              Originally posted by jtwg50 View Post
              I think that is very good and encouraging news for those of us who like and want to write such movies. Let's hope the trend continues with 2014 releases!
              Here's hoping that executive minds are beginning to open, generally, to the benefits of a wider range of stories (and the idea that specs can bring them again).

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              • #37
                Re: A fantastic year for intelligent adult films

                Originally posted by sc111 View Post
                Funny you should mention Lone Ranger. When it came out and got panned, we didn't see it in the theater. Especially since our 6th grade girl doesn't like westerns. ("Not enough action!" she says, "Nothing gets blown up!") But last night we were scrounging around On Demand for something to watch as a family. Though the kid was still resistant, we sold her on it.

                We all enjoyed it. The kid was having a grand old time with it and was happy to see things blow up. As a popcorn move it works.
                Pretty good, yeah. Fell victim to that bizarro anti big budget political movement. Bad timing, I guess. Nebraska was okay, but seemed to get heat because it's always nice to see Dern (and Keach) get back in the saddle IMO. Kool, older Keach film with a great twist: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081237/...m_flmg_act_148

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                • #38
                  Re: A fantastic year for intelligent adult films

                  Had a discussion with a studio exec about this very topic and we discussed one of their best picture nominees from last year, which financially did quite well. Last year, 6 of 10 best picture noms did over $100 million domestic box office (http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb...fice-20130224).

                  Interestingly enough, my favorite was ALL IS LOST, which wasn't even nominated. 2013 was a great year for successful adult fare.
                  "Write every day. Don't quit. The rest is all bullshit." - Brian Koppelman

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                  • #39
                    Re: A fantastic year for intelligent adult films

                    i'm with Tochirto, I wasn't too thrilled with the movies this year. I'm thinkin' (hoping) 2014 will be better.

                    I find myself being more critical with movies these days... and more bored.

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