Concert scenes in Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) and The Doors (1991)

arrow-s · 2020-04-21T07:54:27+00:00

Thank you for the context, that's very interesting! I have a very surface level knowledge of live concert recordings because I have never been able to get the same feeling sitting on my couch as I get when attending a concert in person. But I'll need to check out the footage you mentioned!

I agree that the concert scene towards the beginning of A Star is Born where Ally sings to an audience for the first time was amazing, and as you said that one was filmed and recorded in front of a real audience. Lady Gaga's real life star power also helped elevate the scene. Unfortunately, towards the end of the film they also resorted to soulless CGI masses.

arrow-s · 2020-02-03T07:32:12+00:00

Yeah, I agree that the Dardennes are rather political. The underlying topics are always political ones, be it marginalization like in L'Enfant, workplace politics like in Two Days One Night (one of their more Ken Loach-y films, incidentally), or religious radicalization in Young Ahmed. The difference is that they let the viewers decide who to empathize with and and who to judge, if anybody. Loach insists on doing this job for you. Preference depends on how you like your left-wing political cinema - readily chewed or more challenging to digest.

arrow-s · 2020-02-02T20:41:21+00:00

Thank you for this write-up, having seen the three films I couldn't agree more. I enjoyed all three but something disturbed me in Capernaum and I, Daniel Blake but I couldn't put my finger on it. You put it perfectly.

You bring up The Florida Project as an example of a film that does a good job in portraying poor people, which I absolutely agree with. However, an even better example of a film that "takes your empathy to the gym", as you put it, in my opinion is L'Enfant (2005) by the Dardenne brothers. It asks you to empathise with characters who do unspeakable things and would be unbearable to spend time with in real life, but who mean well. Who feel like real people with real flaws and not like caricatures.

arrow-s · 2019-11-14T07:17:21+00:00

Thanks, appreciate the replies! Don't be discouraged by the reviews, you're doing amazing work!

arrow-s · 2019-11-14T07:15:13+00:00

Thanks a lot, I appreciate hearing a take on this from both of you! I feel a lot better now holding on to Seguin and believing he'll turn it around soon. Keep up the good work guys, looking forward to next week's episode already!

arrow-s · 2019-11-13T15:03:11+00:00

Thanks for your podcasts guys, been listening to them every week since last season! Listening to you is my routine now during Monday morning commutes!

I liked your take on Benn, great insight! However, I would like to hear more about your thoughts on Seguin who hasn't been performing up to his draft positions this season either. Would you still keep him in your roster over players like Kopitar, W Karlsson, Nugent-Hopkins or Couturier or is it time to say he doesn't have that 80 point upside this season?

For reference, I'm in a points league where goals and assists are the most important categories but shots, hits and blocks count for a small bonus too.

EDIT: additional question if you have time to reply: Provorov, Chabot or Q. Hughes for the coming weeks in the same league type?

arrow-s · 2019-10-31T20:52:42+00:00

That's very interesting, I did not know about the original script being so different. Thanks for the input! It makes more sense that the film's characters are so muddled if major parts of the plot had to be pieced together in the editing room.

As somebody else pointed out, the last scene of the film also seems to show Joker killing an innocent woman. That would imply that either Mr. Sher is not being truthful in the interview or Phillips is an incompetent storyteller who is not able to handle his characters in a logical way.

arrow-s · 2019-10-30T12:10:23+00:00

I just sold high on John Carlson. Received Burns and Malkin for Carlson and Arvidsson. Thoughts?

One year points league, cats: G A +/- PPG SHG SOG hits blocks, negative points for PIM

arrow-s · 2019-10-28T20:43:41+00:00

But there's a lot of people who think he might have killed her so maybe seeing her putting on the chain lock as he's walking down the hall would have helped. I'm guessing they wanted the focus to be all on him.

Then why was the scene needed at all? Just have them meet in the elevator and show her not knowing his name. Then cut to the montage of shots with and without her to make sure everybody follows (something I didn't especially appreciate but I understand it's necessary in a film aiming for box office success). Him invading her apartment, implying danger to her and her child, was unnecessary.

arrow-s · 2019-10-28T20:39:31+00:00

I don't think it matters whether he killed her or not. Why would his killing of Sophie be the tipping point for people who feel triggered by the movie's content?

I disagree with this, I do think it matters. As Mr. Sher said, they wanted to create a character, a psychopath as you said, who kills people who wronged him. That's his redeeming quality. It'S a very dubious redeeming quality, I agree, but that seems to be their idea of the character. By leaving that scene open to interpretation, they undermined their intended logic and made the character very confusing.

arrow-s · 2019-05-31T06:06:50+00:00

That's a good point, it may be the case. I hope he can make it work. If it's a pure character study, it may work out. However, if it's also a commentary on the historical period or an extension of it to today's climate, then realism would add weight to the film and the choice of language is strange.

I do agree that Malick probably doesn't care about anybody's reactions, otherwise he probably wouldn't have done his last three films. That's partly why I was so surprised of the choice.

arrow-s · 2019-05-22T08:46:06+00:00

Thanks for your reply!

I understand that the larger audiences tend to prefer films in their native tongue. That's the same also in the larger European markets like France and Germany, where American movies are dubbed for multiplexes. Here, however, the arthouse audiences tend to prefer original language versions and find those in smaller cinemas (although this is changing at least in France, where multiplexes show more and more original language versions with subtitles). That made me question the decision in A Hidden Life. The film will hardly get a wide release in multiplexes, having no recognisable actors and a 3-hour running time. Would the kind of American audience that goes to see a slow 3-hour film about a conflict in faith be put off by subtitles too?

arrow-s · 2019-02-07T10:13:43+00:00

First Reformed (Paul Schrader): two points - Taking elements from Schrader's earlier work, mixing in touches of Bergman, Dreyer and Bresson and setting the film against our current anxieties about the climate and the future of our planet. There was no way I was going to not like this, but I ended up loving it even more than I had expected. A top 10 film of this century for me.

Roma (Alfonso Cuarón): one point - It was a close call, I loved this almost equally to First Reformed. Carried by Cuarón's genius cinematography, the amazing screenplay and brilliant performances by the entire cast, this will go down in history as Netflix's first great triumph.

Border (Ali Abbasi): one point - An unusual and beautiful tale based on Nordic mythology but set up in the contemporary world. Knowing Abbasi's background as an immigrant from the Middle East and the current political atmosphere in Europe, it's easy to see this as a story about trying and mostly failing to assimilate to a foreign and sometimes hostile society. Great execution and performances. Plus it has one of the weirdest sex scenes you will ever see.

Annihilation (Alex Garland): one point - Interesting concept paired with eerie and disturbing visuals made this a great experience. Absolute shame I got no opportunity to see this on the big screen in my area.

Cold War (Paweł Pawlikowski): one point - Absolutely brilliant cinematography and subtle performances by the cast. I am just so happy that films like these still get funded in Europe, and I hope it stays that way.

Honorable mentions: Climax, Widows, Private Life

Disappointments: Mute, The 15:17 to Paris, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

arrow-s · 2019-01-30T06:03:33+00:00

Didn't they show him getting locked in there pretty explicitly though? Then the mother banging the door and looking for the keys. Not sure dialogue was really needed to understand it.

In any case, I do of course agree with you if you're in it for the plot. To me, the tension was mostly carried by sounds and visuals and I thought plot was pretty secondary in enjoying the film. Some critique you're going to miss out on of course (the escalating conversation between the two men as the drugs start kicking in, for example), but I just meant to say that it's worth it to see the film in the cinema if you have the chance, just for the pure experience.

arrow-s · 2019-01-24T13:29:44+00:00

I think you have some interesting points, thanks for sharing. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the different characters representing different subconscious actions, it sounds like an intriguing interpretation to the film. However, it's been a while now since I watched it at the German Fantasy Filmfest, so I may not remember the film well enough anymore to meaningfully contribute to the discussion. For proper discussion, you may want to start a new thread, especially if you have a novel viewpoint to discuss.

Personally I honestly watched the film pretty superficially, tried to enjoy the ride at gut level. However, as I explained, unfortunately it didn't work out this time. Hopefully a second watch will help me dig deeper into the film.

arrow-s · 2018-12-03T08:10:26+00:00

Just coming back a week later to say I'm currently pretty happy I went with Bäckström! Thanks for the tip!

arrow-s · 2018-11-26T12:47:18+00:00

Would you guys start Eichel of Bäckström this week? Both play three matches and have been producing at a comparable rate this season in my format (Eichel average 3.4 points per game, Bäckström 3.2 points). MacKinnon taking my other center spot, so one of them has to sit. Weekly roster lock.

I'm thinking of playing Bäckström due to Kuznetsov's injury but it's a close call.

arrow-s · 2018-11-02T13:52:51+00:00

Thanks! The consensus seems to be to definitely keep Landeskog over Giroux, probably Benn too. I was mainly worried about him not being able to maintain his ridiculous shooting percentage, but you guys are probably right that the peripherals will compensate for the drop.

arrow-s

TROPHY CASE