An Idea Part 2 Ratings Bonzana Continued and Back with a stinging vengance

Ok, let's put a bunch of grades for a bunch of films I've seen those past fews weeks...

Dragonball Evolution : 2/10
Synecdoche, New York : 3/10
The Horsemen : 2/10
Duplicity : 6/10
Ghost Town : 7/10
The International : 6/10
Passengers : 2/10
Milk : 7 / 10
Last Chance for Love : 5/10
Watchmen : 5/10
Gran Torino : 9.5/10
The Wrestler : 7.5/10
Benjamin Button : 9.5/10
Let the right one in : 8/10

I do agree with the majority of your ratings, Chien (nice to have you back, btw), with the exception of Ghost Town and Ben Button. I would've put Ghost Town more 9/10...just watched it and laughed my ass off consistently...very possibly the funniest movie of last year (or, at the very least, tied with How to Lose Friends and Alienate People for the title). And Ben Button I would have put WAY, WAY lower...more like 2/10...I absolutely hate it when a filmmaker tries to develop feeling through pathos...much prefer tragedy as a storytelling device.

As a side note, I think you're the only one who agrees that Slumdog Millionaire was over-rated (from your column)...

Oh, and one other thing, I saw the new Transformers preview before Observe and Report...and much to my disbelief...I want to see it even less now. I was planning on seeing it as a fun movie, but the trailer was so damn awful that I may not see it at all anymore. I mean, we're not expecting a lot from this movie in the first place as no one expects anything intelligent or groundbreaking from Michael Bay, just a few explosions and cool effects, and now it looks like they can not even do that right...

Mfrendo, truth is I could have easily put an 8 to Ghost Town, that unexpected comedy stole my heart a couple of weeks ago, I wasn't exactly expecting such a shiny film, graced with the aura of Hollywood's Golden Age's comedies. One of the most pleasant surprise of the year for me (for now).

As for Benjamin Button, I really can't associate the film with any thought of pathos. Emotion yes, pathos no. Pathos comes with clumsiness, it comes with a filmmaker who wants to express emotions but has no talent to display them and comes at it with heaviness. And David Fincher is everything but talentless. His film is a fascinating, brilliant, out of touch reflection on time, and on death. To me Ben Button is, along with Two Lovers and Gran Torino, the best American film of the last 2 or 3 years.

Okay, let's continue with the grades !

Che : The Argentine : 7/10
Che : Guerilla : 5/10
Defiance : 5/10
Seven Pounds : 3/10
Yes Man : 7/10
Revolutionary Road : 8/10
Inkheart : 4/10
Walkyrie : 7/10
Push : 3/10
Doubt : 4/10
He's just not that into you : 5/10
Marley & Me : 6/10
Frost/Nixon : 6/10

Glad to see you love Benjamin Button too Chien. It was incredible.

Disappointed by the 7.5 to the Wrestler though.

Wow chein you've seen a lot of films in your absence. also geez i know this will make you happy. I think upon further reflection i enjoyed The Wrestler almost as much as you. The movie is astonishing and also after watching Milk i can say Mickey Rourke was robbed proably more than anyone else in the last few years for oscar.

Well I am glad you think so transformers. Can usually count on you to agree with me.

Now Go Sox!

hell yeah go sox. they need to start winning!

i'm surprised you sat through Dragonball, Chien.. even if you have any amount of nostalgia for the anime or manga (which i doubt you do), the movie really really really looks horrible..

i've had Synecdoche at home from Netflix for like two weeks--just haven't found that spark of motivation to actually watch it yet......

Chienfantome wrote:[As for Benjamin Button, I really can't associate the film with any thought of pathos. Emotion yes, pathos no. Pathos comes with clumsiness, it comes with a filmmaker who wants to express emotions but has no talent to display them and comes at it with heaviness.

i don't think everyone has such a pejorative definition of pathos as that..

geezer9687 wrote:Disappointed by the 7.5 to the Wrestler though.

Well I don't know what are your standards of appreciation Geez, but to me 7.5 is an excellent grade. Sure it's not a 9, but it's an excellent grade. I see too many movies to put a 9 to every single film I love. And I loved "The Wrestler". I think that rourke should have won the Oscar, no question about it, and I think the film deserved more Oscar nominations than it got. I think it's a heartbreaking portrait of a man, raw, bitter, and amazingly portrayed by Rourke. Okay I should have put an 8 !

transformers2 wrote:Wow chein you've seen a lot of films in your absence.

And to tell you the truth transfy (lol), that's just the top of the iceberg. I've only put in here the films that were released in the US those past few months. So that's barely half of what I've seen in theaters

NSpan wrote:i'm surprised you sat through Dragonball, Chien.. even if you have any amount of nostalgia for the anime or manga (which i doubt you do), the movie really really really looks horrible..

Sorry mate, but I grew up with Dragonball and DBZ. That's my whole childhood and adolescence. In France those animes were broadcasted as soon as the 80's, on par with the Japanese broadcasting, so I could NOT miss the movie, no matter how bad it looked (and is !)

NSpan wrote:i've had Synecdoche at home from Netflix for like two weeks--just haven't found that spark of motivation to actually watch it yet......

It could, it should, have been a great film, but it most definitely is not. I remember when Eternal Sunshine was released, most of the credit of the film's genius was given to Charlie Kaufman (HE got Oscar nominated for it); Synecdoche proves that Gondry's as much responsible for Eternal's genius as Kaufman is. Synecdoche was probably mind-blowing on paper, but it takes so much talent to appropriate one's creativity and give it justice. Kaufman can't even give justice to his own ambitions. He has no idea whatsoever of what to do with all his written ideas. The movie is so boring it looks like it lasts 4 hours. Big disappointment.

NSpan wrote:i don't think everyone has such a pejorative definition of pathos as that..

I do have a pejorative definition of pathos indeed.

I know you have harsher standards than me Chien. But for me, The Wrestler vaulted into my top 20 of all time. I thought it was that good. Thanks for the explanation buddie.

Well I'm glad to know that you esteem Aronofsky's film so highly Geez. Great taste of yours, man

Chienfantome wrote:Sorry mate, but I grew up with Dragonball and DBZ. That's my whole childhood and adolescence. In France those animes were broadcasted as soon as the 80's, on par with the Japanese broadcasting, so I could NOT miss the movie, no matter how bad it looked (and is !)

i dug some of the cartoons, but there are just some things in this world that should NOT be adapted to live-action.. anime is, generally, one of those things

It could, it should, have been a great film, but it most definitely is not. I remember when Eternal Sunshine was released, most of the credit of the film's genius was given to Charlie Kaufman (HE got Oscar nominated for it); Synecdoche proves that Gondry's as much responsible for Eternal's genius as Kaufman is. Synecdoche was probably mind-blowing on paper, but it takes so much talent to appropriate one's creativity and give it justice. Kaufman can't even give justice to his own ambitions. He has no idea whatsoever of what to do with all his written ideas. The movie is so boring it looks like it lasts 4 hours. Big disappointment

i think Kaufman is an absolute hack--and i've been saying it for years.. maybe people will finally start to believe me now... i give Gondry the majority credit for everything good about Eternal Sunshine (which i loved).. we're gonna try and catch Tokyo! this week..


PS. The Wrestler was easily one of the best of '08.. and i'd happily go the rest of my life without seeing Slumdog again.. but i still have faith in Danny Boyle.. he's got plenty more in him

I'm hoping that Boyle doesn't sell out and start making shit projects ala Ron Howard. Plus, I'm really interested in Ponte Tower and hope that project can have the international appeal that similar culture clash dramas lack.

Meanwhile:

Sunshine Cleaning ***/****

At first, I thought that this was going to be a depressing film about people at the bottom realizing what could have been and dwell on those mistakes. Instead, it's an entertaining black comedy with an early Oscar bait performance by Amy Adams (who was also quite sexy in the wardrobe she got to wear on screen), another great performance from the legendary Alan Arkin (who looked strangely like Kojak here) and perhaps for the first time, a good performance from Emily Blunt who has officially got me convinced that her hype is deserving and that she can play more than just unlikeable Englishwomen and unlikeable American women. The support of Clifton Collins Jr (or Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez) as a one-armed model enthusiast and a hardly recognizable Steve Zahn also works in its favor. And last, I enjoyed the actor playing Oscar the Lil' Bastard. I think he's got a future in the arthouse comedy.

The Wrestler sucked.

The Oscar robbery of 2009 was the fact that Gran Torino was not nominated for one single catergory!!

BanksIsDaFuture wrote:The Wrestler sucked.

Couldn't of said it better myself

The Oscar robbery of 2009 was the fact that Gran Torino was not nominated for one single catergory!!

I wouldnt know, as i haven't had time to see it yet, but i'm planning on it, one of these days

NSpan wrote:i think Kaufman is an absolute hack--and i've been saying it for years.. maybe people will finally start to believe me now... i give Gondry the majority credit for everything good about Eternal Sunshine (which i loved).. we're gonna try and catch Tokyo! this week..

Tokyo's great, one of my favourite films of last year. Weirdly, I found that, as good as it was, Gondry's part was the least memorable one. I've never been a fan of Leos Carax, but his segment, "Merde !" ("Shit !") is absolutely mesmerizing. And Bong Joon-Ho's was the most poetic piece of cinema I've seen in 2008.

BanksIsDaFuture wrote:The Oscar robbery of 2009 was the fact that Gran Torino was not nominated for one single category!!

Amen to that Banks !

Gran Torino was great as well but i found The Wrestler to be better. I dont like it quite as much as geez does but it is still a fantastic film.

BanksIsDaFuture wrote:

The Oscar robbery of 2009 was the fact that Gran Torino was not nominated for one single catergory!!

I think those horrendous child actors turned off the Oscar voters. I know I couldn't keep a straight face watching that amateurish work. It was like watching The Room but with a surly old man rather than a self important, naive, egotistical independent filmmaker.

JackO wrote:

BanksIsDaFuture wrote:

The Oscar robbery of 2009 was the fact that Gran Torino was not nominated for one single catergory!!

I think those horrendous child actors turned off the Oscar voters. I know I couldn't keep a straight face watching that amateurish work. It was like watching The Room but with a surly old man rather than a self important, naive, egotistical independent filmmaker.

It's probably because of the racist tones--which are as needed as a black/white (racially) 1960's film.

JackO wrote:

I think those horrendous child actors turned off the Oscar voters. I know I couldn't keep a straight face watching that amateurish work. It was like watching The Room but with a surly old man rather than a self important, naive, egotistical independent filmmaker.

Yeah, the one kid (Tao or, as Clint put it, Toad) was easily the worst actor I think I've seen since Hayden Christensen. But then again, he had no experience so I think it's Clint's fault for going for that. There's a handful of talented, experienced Asian actors that could've played that part.

But Gran Torino should've got nods for Best Actor, Best Original Song, and maybe Best Director. At least.

However, as much as I did not like The Wrestler, I do think Aronfonsky did an amazing job, and should've gotten some recognizition (sp).

Alexander Ludwig from Race To Witch Mountain and The Seeker is far worse. And Spencer "Open This Door, Bitch!" Breslin's pretty bad too.

W wrote:It's probably because of the racist tones--which are as needed as a black/white (racially) 1960's film.

You're not saying the film is racist right ? Tell me you don't W !

Umm.... Since when do racist tones mean that you won't have Oscar success? The steaming pile of dog shit known as Crash was nothing but racism and it won the damn best picture Oscar!