* Did you watch a film last night (on Blu or DVD), and what was it? *
- Thread starter NorthStar
- Start date
Caught up on some blu rays (rented) of the new "Amazing Spider Man" and "Total Recall".
Liked both of them. The dweeby British actor who played Peter Parker seemed to pull it off. I liked the prior series, but the new one seems more humanistic, if that makes any sense for a blatant fantasy flick. Movie goers must be getting jaded, seemed this one also had some bad press.
Total Recall has a lot of "easter egg" tributes to previous sic fi movies, Blade Runner and Minority Report in particular. Maybe the sic fi movie of the future will just be an a la carte splice and dice of the generational greats. Only one beast, the homicidal, ninja, rageful "ex-wife" who dogs to the end, and doesn't even have a divorce lawyer. Colin Farrell would lose an alternating "pec tango" with Arny, but maybe that's a good thing. Gratuitous three breasted hooker as from the original, no disappointment there, but I missed Mars. I loved the "lens flares" a la Blade Runner during the film, and when I watched the commentaries from the blu ray, they purposely ordered construction of lenses based on the old, obsolete types just to get this effect in the film, it wasn't just CGI lens flares.
Both movies have great CGI and are entertaining, elaborate popcorn movies.
Watched with Sony OLED visors on Playsation 3, using the full surround system "in the room" in Santa Cruz, a surprisingly effective and immersive way to watch these. Those OLEDs are sure purty.
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"A Dangerous Method"
David Cronenberg, erstwhile of the creepy B horror movie fame ("Scanners" is one of my all time faves), crafted a thoughtful and wonderfully acted movie about the early psychiatric pioneers Jung and Freud.
The movie is apparently a multi faceted diamond. I was curious about what others thought and read through multiple reviews. It seems few individuals had the same particular view, with opinions ranging from stultifying boredom to magnificent, some fixating on the historical elements, some on the increasingly volatile relationship between Freud and Jung, some on aspects of religion, sociology and culture.
My own view is that the movie portrays a kind of glib futility. The early psychiatric pioneers attempted to forge a manipulable mechanistic/scientific view of the mind, wresting that role from the traditional interpretations of religion, morality, spirituality, mythology, literature and interpersonal, generational wisdoms. They donned some rather shabby mantles of unflappable objectivity, but had no handle ultimately on their own minds or tendencies.
Freud succumbed to alpha dog intellectualism and jealousy, Jung to Oedipal rebellion and mysticism.
The movie moves in elegant baby steps to its eventually powerful emotional subtleties.
Jung allows his moral compass to be tilted and seduced by a client therapist, the drug addicted and sociopathic Otto Gross. Gross' view was that the authoritarian role of the therapist merely justified access to patients for personal and sexual exploitation, which he called "freedom." Our last view of Gross is humping a beleaguered nurse then escaping shirtless over the hospital wall.
The tainted Jung, however, his moral compass thinned, finally succumbs to an affair with his patient/student/colleague. He even re-enacts with her the scenes of sexual masochism, which presumably were what caused her initial sexual hysteria.
There is a fairly priceless scene in which Jung, having had his fun, employs the typical male posture of hyper rationalism to end the affair, while the abandoned colleague/patient/student counters with hyper emotionalism and reactivity, apparently a scenario that the psychiatric profession had not yet mastered, the disentanglement of love and libido without leaving wound tracts.
The movie ends with Jung vividly depressed, having revisited his folly of the mistress/student/patient once again with a different woman, decisively alienated from Freud, and on the verge of a nervous breakdown prior to WWI.
Gorgeous period cinematography, great music score, top notch acting. It didn't bore me a bit, but I could see how it might bore some people.
Watched on Sony VPL VW200.
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Thanks for the review, Carl. I've actually liked a couple of his movies, The Fly was very well done, as was the movie about the crazy twin doctors. There were a couple of others too, including History of Violence. I had a hard time with his movie Crash, as distinguished from the other one of that title, which I loved.
We watched Flight the other night on ppv, it was much better than I expected. ditto, skyfall, which i only caught a few nights ago as well, also on ppv. really entertaining. haven't watched any 'serious' films lately, would love to see the documentary about Ginger Baker, but I'm sure that will be available soon enough on Vudu.
We watched Flight the other night on ppv, it was much better than I expected. ditto, skyfall, which i only caught a few nights ago as well, also on ppv. really entertaining. haven't watched any 'serious' films lately, would love to see the documentary about Ginger Baker, but I'm sure that will be available soon enough on Vudu.
Last night ::
--
* The first two discs; disc #3 tonight.
...You guys already know about these three music/picture documentaries, without words.
But this 3-disc Blu-ray set is it! ...Good for the mind, for the soul, for the knowledge,
for the conscience.
If like me you think life is important, the essence of our existence makes any sense, or not,
get this set, on Blu-ray.
--
* The first two discs; disc #3 tonight.
...You guys already know about these three music/picture documentaries, without words.
But this 3-disc Blu-ray set is it! ...Good for the mind, for the soul, for the knowledge,
for the conscience.
If like me you think life is important, the essence of our existence makes any sense, or not,
get this set, on Blu-ray.
-- ...29% over at Rotten Tomatoes. 
...Comes a not so bright day. ------------- Just kidding; films are like art paintings ....
...Comes a not so bright day. ------------- Just kidding; films are like art paintings ....
-- ...29% over at Rotten Tomatoes.
Bob,
The biggest insult you could ever give me would be to call me mainstream.
I suppose Comes A Bright Day is as close to mainstream as I get, however. My usual fare is foreign language films. My favorites are typically Russian, Romanian and Danish. They approach film in a way that I find fresh and engaging, and I'm certain that Rotten Tomatoes would hate them all.
Bob,
The biggest insult you could ever give me would be to call me mainstream.
I suppose Comes A Bright Day is as close to mainstream as I get, however. My usual fare is foreign language films. My favorites are typically Russian, Romanian and Danish. They approach film in a way that I find fresh and engaging, and I'm certain that Rotten Tomatoes would hate them all.
I would never insult anyone. ...But I'm playful, and like to play like childrens do, and have fun and be happy.
What I like the most about you is that you have the guts to post what you just posted.
Glad to see you back, Bob.I was beginning to think you were a bot Amir invented to keep the threads going on auto pilot.
Guess you are a real person, banned and everything. Congratulations!
Welcome back Bob!
Thanks for posting that Criterion release...I'll have to pick it up!
This thread would not be a thread without Bob. I use it as one reference to which discs I should consider viewing/owning
Carl, Terry (wow, a lady! ...and a pretty one too!), and Audioguy; Thank You! :b
* I did watch the third disc last night: 'Naqoyqatsi'.
...and a pretty one too!), and Audioguy; Thank You! :b* I did watch the third disc last night: 'Naqoyqatsi'.
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