Comment Archives: Stories: Film: The Year in Film
Re: “The best (so-so) movies of 2011”
Tin Tin was probably the best animated movie in a long time
Re: “The best (so-so) movies of 2011”
I think the bluntness and bombast in Melancholia becomes less simplistic when you consider that it's in the service of confronting nothingness.
Re: “The best (so-so) movies of 2011”
I'm always up for a Lars von Trier film, but in general, I like my not-so-approachable filmmakers to be a little less pushy with their themes, along with their camerawork, editing and music choices.
There are certainly unforgettable images in Melancholia.
Re: “The best (so-so) movies of 2011”
Yes, I did notice. He's not included in the BAH!
I admit it's not a terribly approachable movie, but then again neither is any Kiarostami movie I've ever seen.
Re: “The best (so-so) movies of 2011”
Michael, my first excuse is that I hadn't seen it by deadline. But now that I have seen it, I'm still not sure I'm sold.
The person who saw it with me was *blown away*, though. And got the considerable humor in the film, too, which was mostly lost on me at the time.
I assume you noticed that Nathan Gelgud included Melancholia in his contribution to this article.
Re: “The best (so-so) movies of 2011”
BAH to all of you who didn't put Melancholia your lists. I know it's overblown, and I know Lars von Trier made a total ass of himself in promoting it, but interleaving of emotional identification and the merger of (yes, overt and blatantly obvious) metaphorical depression with vivid depiction of actual mental illness has been resonating with me since I saw it.
Re: “The year's 10 best movies fused tradition and modernism”
Man what a white Oscars it will be.
Re: “The year's 10 best movies fused tradition and modernism”
It would be nice to see more non-Western or non-narrative based films for once, there were so many great ones this year, to name a few: Apichatpong's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Godard's Film Socialisme, Enter the Void, Olivier Assayas' Carlos, Meek's Cutoff, Somos lo que hay, Dogtooth.
Re: “A decade of wonder and tumult”
That is amazing and so is Avatar. This Avatar fansite is cool too. www.Naviblue.com
Re: “Worst Films of 2008”
I actually found the glowing critical reception of WALL-E mystifying and was glad to see someone else call this movie out for being simplistic and condescending. As to the "surface story," I'd prefer not to have a global corporation (Disney) tell me about the "environmental degradation was caused by global corporations." Regardless of political content, creating a world with "skill using a brilliant visual pallet, outstanding sound effects and beautiful music" does not a good movie make.
Re: “Worst Films of 2008”
Placing WALL E on the worst list is truly mystifying and makes me think either the reviewer slept through the film or has an extreme anti-Disney bias. WALL E tells a multi-layered tale the way a good film should: through a visual narrative accompanied by a tremendous score.On the surface the story is simple: earth is trashed, environmental degradation was caused by global corporations. The real story goes beyond that: how do we find love in a lonely world taken over by technology; how is our aesthetic sense nullified by pervasive marketing; how is our individuality threatened by globalization. What film this year created its own world with such skill using a brilliant visual pallet, outstanding sound effects and beautiful music. WALL E, as animation, went far beyond Pixar's normal high quality entertainment and moved modern animation into a new realm. Unfortunately your reviewer's sophomoric review didn't come close to matching WALL E's quality.
Re: “The best (so-so) movies of 2011”
Really glad Meek's Cutoff got a mention! Reichardt is a burgeoning talent.