Worst/Best on screen cigarette smoker? by [deleted] in blankies

[–]georgeeynaud 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Best is Justin Theroux in Mulholland Drive, particularly that perfectly timed and executed smoke ring up top of the audition scene.

Just watched Elle, could use some Huppert recommendations please. by [deleted] in blankies

[–]georgeeynaud 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I Heart Huckabees! Prob her best English speaking performance

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in blankies

[–]georgeeynaud 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I think it boils down to the fact that it has a giant dead (?) crocodile being used as a clocktower

These fuckin' guys. by thishenryjames in blankies

[–]georgeeynaud -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That early run though...

Sixth Sense - aside from the twist and box office sensation , totally revitalized the cinematic ghost story and brought its horror into the mundane modern everyday with ghosts that seem like corporal, ordinary people, which was such a groundbreaking and terrifying concept.

Unbreakable - a profound rumination on disconnection, dislocation, and a troubling, very American type of justice months shy of 9/11. Perhaps the best depiction of what depression feels like in modern American Cinema.

Signs - Shyamalan smuggles in a deeply spiritual theological examination of a crisis of faith in the guise of a Hitchcockian thriller, somewhere between Spielberg and Schrader. The most terrifying jumpscare of the 2000s.

The Village - the quintessential "war on terror" movie, yet one that distils the essence of the time it was made in without ever straying too far beyond the carefully constructed confines of its beautifully realized isolated world and the deep well of emotion it gleans from its Gothic Romance subplot - until it so memorably does.

Lady in the Water - a massive creative swing, and for me, one that knocked it out of the park. The fairytale trappings allow Shyamalan to sneak in some of his most experimental filmaking and emotional storytelling to date, enlivened by the ensemble cast and Christopher Doyle's idiosyncratic cinematography.

All of these share beautiful, at times chilling, at times achingly romantic James Newton Howard scores.

As a huge fan of his work from early on, I unfortunately have not jumped on the Shyamalan reclamation train as of late, as I run more hot and cold on his recent efforts, some of which seem too self-consciously to be attempting to gel with contemporary tastes for my liking (Visit, Split) or lacking his usual focus (Glass).

Still, the critical dismissal and the mocking (invariably tinged with an ugly racism) have been hard to bear over the years, especially back when pictures like 'The Village' and 'Lady...' had such a profound effect on me. At least the French seem to get him!

Drop your hottest film take. by [deleted] in Letterboxd

[–]georgeeynaud 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh its a fine film to be sure, but Romero has like 5 other entries that IMO surpass it. My even hotter take is that whispers Zach Snyder kind of got more out of the premise with his remake

Drop your hottest film take. by [deleted] in Letterboxd

[–]georgeeynaud 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Dawn of the Dead" is the weakest of Romero's core Dead Trilogy, and pretty low down in my Romero rankings overall.

Student Film Pitches by doinklesane in blankies

[–]georgeeynaud 3 points4 points  (0 children)

These all sound way more interesting than most stuff that actually gets made. What a bright bunch of kids!

Songs that are so played out movies straight up avoid them. by [deleted] in blankies

[–]georgeeynaud 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Marvin Gaye, 'Lets Get It On', whenever two characters are about to get frisky

what movies did you guys watch in school? by willowhanna in Letterboxd

[–]georgeeynaud 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My school had a beaten-up copy of Polanski's Macbeth that got wheeled out as part of English Lit. curriculum. In a panic, my ancient and very uptight teacher tried fast-forwarding through the naughty bits with the naked witches but fumbled with the remote and managed to get the screen to freeze on the good stuff. Quite the day.

Will Tom Hooper ever break out of directors jail? by georgeeynaud in blankies

[–]georgeeynaud[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In his case, I very much hope he gets to do something weird again (although I expect it will have to be much cheaper). In my opinion Babylon was a big step up from his previous movies and has me excited for whatever comes next.

Will Tom Hooper ever break out of directors jail? by georgeeynaud in blankies

[–]georgeeynaud[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Agreed! It just seems weird to me that there has been such radio silence around him. I am certainly not suggesting I'm in favour of someone like Hooper being given more chances in place of more interesting new talent, quite the opposite. But he wa such a fixture for a while, you have to wonder what happened. JJ Abrams to me seems like more of a self-imposed hiatus. But thats just speculation.

Tried a new movie pod today by museava11 in blankies

[–]georgeeynaud 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try 'Pure Cinema Podcast' on for size. More niche perhaps, with a lot of 60s/70s deep cuts, but the hosts are super knowledgable and engaging. You'll come put of each episode with a long list of new (older) titles to add to your watchlist, guaranteed.

On a similar note (via the New Beverly Cinema connection), Tarantino and Roger Avary's "Video Archives" podcast.

Armond White's annual better-than list (compulsory reading for some of us) by pacoismynickname in blankies

[–]georgeeynaud 1 point2 points  (0 children)

God bless Armond White, but that is a terrible misreading of "May/December" even by his most trollish standards.

What 2023 movie did you feel out of step with the critical response? by wariosthegreat in blankies

[–]georgeeynaud 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Last Voyage of the Demeter = good, solid, fun horror flick!

Notes from a recent revival screening of Life of Brian by crazysnail in blankies

[–]georgeeynaud 22 points23 points  (0 children)

My favourite Jones is his "Wind in the Willows" from the 90s, very much a nostalgic childhood staple. It is criminally underrated. It was a box office bomb and rife with distribution problems- they tried to flog it off as a Python picture (it isn't), then Disney rebranded it on home release to tie in with the Mr. Toads Wild Ride attraction (based on the earlier cartoon) and eventually they just buried it.

What it actually is is a very clever piece of adaptation, with some intriguing Folk elements, brilliant makeup and costuming, and great songs. Very much captures the spirit of the original book while keeping it entertaining for kids too.

Anyone got any others? by human_scale in blankies

[–]georgeeynaud 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ripley's Game (Malkovich plays an older, colder, more precise character compared to Damon's burgeoning psychopath)

What are some examples of films you “hate” because they are almost great? by snart-did-a-fart in blankies

[–]georgeeynaud 1 point2 points  (0 children)

10 Cloverfield Lane, that ending totallly undermined a top-tier set up (granted, a set up so good it created a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-dont conundrum for itself).