tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post7933896364276421925..comments2024-03-12T12:38:23.542-04:00Comments on The Kind of Face You Hate: Contrarian Daysbill r.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-90664751196344119522010-03-18T15:01:35.996-04:002010-03-18T15:01:35.996-04:00I don't know, man. I just watched Gentlemen Br...I don't know, man. I just watched Gentlemen Broncos myself, and though I had heard, through headlines, that it was weird and bad, I kept myself from reading anything else about it. So, I had no expectations. Then I watched it, and it was STILL as bad as everyone had said. This movie just doesn't work.<br /><br />Hess is trying to play the Napoleon Dynamite card to the extreme, but the problem is, ND was about as extreme as you can take characters in their awkwardness and not outright repel viewers. Plus, it tries to be hilariously bad (within its framed story, Yeast Lords), but since it's *trying* to be bad, there's very little that can emerge as hilarious about it.Robert Ringhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03480999866085728317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-57189367743776652512010-03-15T15:33:15.004-04:002010-03-15T15:33:15.004-04:00I meant Southland Tales isn't completely '...<i>I meant Southland Tales isn't completely 'worthless'.</i><br /><br />I think "without value" would be closer to the mark.Arbogasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12670776992289080245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-42883946112318352202010-03-11T15:49:45.285-05:002010-03-11T15:49:45.285-05:00I'll back you up on "The Box was actually...I'll back you up on "The Box was actually pretty good." It rewards repeat viewings. It's actually gotten better each time I've gone back and watched it, Kelly really layered it well.Bryce Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040954580033470664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-14859731161329554102010-03-09T20:14:07.539-05:002010-03-09T20:14:07.539-05:00I meant Southland Tales isn't completely '...I meant Southland Tales isn't completely 'worthless'.Jeffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03722180261798235298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-70072576516195352242010-03-09T20:13:29.883-05:002010-03-09T20:13:29.883-05:00I'm glad to see some love, or at least like, f...I'm glad to see some love, or at least like, for Gentlemen Broncos. As for Kelly, I agree that Southland Tales isn't completely worth it - there's a great 110-minute movie somewhere buried in that 155 minute mess - and The first half of The Box has a lot of good stuff to it, although the second half, when all the plates come crashing down, was a real disappointment to me. Especially after seeing My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done this weekend, which is a much more enigmatic and satisfying second-hand Lynch ripoff.Jeffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03722180261798235298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-68587348184285377002010-03-08T10:53:42.740-05:002010-03-08T10:53:42.740-05:00Ed - Well, when I get around to it, I'll try t...Ed - Well, when I get around to it, I'll try to write it up, or at least shoot you a message about what I thought.<br /><br />Greg - No!bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-35113773220572828962010-03-08T09:59:38.552-05:002010-03-08T09:59:38.552-05:00Write more about movies I've seen.Write more about movies I've seen.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05730146625671701859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-10324293020278596252010-03-08T00:20:10.672-05:002010-03-08T00:20:10.672-05:00I may have liked The Box slightly more than you, b...I may have liked <i>The Box</i> slightly more than you, but there's no doubt it had LOTS of problems, and that it's deeply indebted to David Lynch without really digesting that influence. My own review of it, a while back, was pretty ambivalent, since its flaws and its good parts are pretty tightly packed together.<br /><br /><i>Southland Tales</i> isn't perfect, either, but I think it's the best, purest expression of Kelly's wild sensibility.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-46984722747887662512010-03-07T18:19:54.131-05:002010-03-07T18:19:54.131-05:00otherbill and Ed -- well what the hell do I do wit...otherbill and Ed -- well what the hell do I do with those two takes? I guess I see it and decide for myself.<br /><br />But Ed, it sounds like you liked THE BOX more than I did, and I liked it, so SOUTHLAND TALES still doesn't fill me with a great deal of hope. Still, I trust you, so maybe I'll see something there worthwhile. I can't deny that I doubt it, but maybe. I've come really close to seeing the film many times since it came out anyway, just out of perverse curiosity, so it'll happen soon.<br /><br />I know! Can you even stand the suspense??bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-78033680876877590522010-03-06T23:00:46.310-05:002010-03-06T23:00:46.310-05:00I thought The Box was mostly pretty fun and entert...I thought <i>The Box</i> was mostly pretty fun and entertaining in that loony, slightly goofy way you describe. What I like about Kelly is his sense of visual imagination; not everything hangs together here, to say the least, but the film is bursting with ideas and, especially, with startling, weirdly beautiful images.<br /><br />But hey, then again, I thought the same thing, only even more so, about the criminally overlooked <i>Southland Tales</i>. That was a great movie, the one Kelly movie where his visual imagination was really firing on all cylinders. I'd say, especially if you liked this film (even with qualifications) don't just dismiss <i>Southland Tales</i> without having seen it. Yeah, it's nutty, and "neo-Marxist," whatever that is, but it's also deliciously fun, and funny as hell.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-27586439560885174722010-03-06T19:54:25.185-05:002010-03-06T19:54:25.185-05:00Watching SOUTHLAND TALES is almost worth it for th...Watching SOUTHLAND TALES is almost worth it for the look of horror and bewilderment that will grow on the faces of your friends as you summarize it for them afterwards. The problem is that you then have to convince them that watching the film isn't 1/48th as fascinating and entertaining as hearing it summarized proves to be. I'm glad I saw it but I cannot in good conscience recommend that path to another human. Though Eli Roth does get shot on a toilet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-70982634578568771612010-03-06T10:42:33.954-05:002010-03-06T10:42:33.954-05:00Rod - I can't argue against any of your points...Rod - I can't argue against any of your points. As you see, I qualified the hell out of my praise for THE BOX, and don't actually trust Kelly as a thinker or artist as far as I can spit. But for me THE BOX was admirably, or at least entertainingly, wonky. A. O. Scott said in his AT THE MOVIES review something like "I enjoyed being confused by it", and that about sums it up for me. That doesn't mean I don't think Kelly is a douche.<br /><br />Dennis - You sure did. Your recommendation, in fact, gave me the hope that maybe there was something salvageable from GENTLEMEN BRONCOS after all, and so it turned out. I guess I really had better check out SPEED RACER.<br /><br />Even the people who hated the film seemed to appreciate Clement. I don't see how they had a choice: he's just too wonderful to ignore. On Facebook, someone who wasn't as keen on the movie still said that they thought Clement should be up for an Oscar tomorrow night. And in a fair world, he would be. Such an entertaining performance.<br /><br />I also thought Mike White was hilarious, as was Sam Rockwell, in Chevalier's version of the story.<br /><br />WalkerP - I wouldn't say the period look of THE BOX is interesting, necessarily. It actually took me a little while to realize the film wasn't set in the modern day (which may be my fault more than the film's). So obviously the period look isn't overpowering, for which I'm grateful. It's just a matter of the film taking place in the 70s, no big deal, move on. Although, I can't figure out <i>why</i> the film was a period piece, except for the partiuclar NASA missions talked about, and the shot of the World Trace Center. A brand new NASA mission (the Viking mission, to be specific) could have been invented, and the WTC shot does not add the sense of creepy awe and thoughtful despair Kelly clearly thinks it does.<br /><br />Oh, you know what? It took place during the Bicentennial. I bet Kelly thought that carried some pseudo-intellectual anarchic meaning, as well.<br /><br />More overpowering was his insistence that we never forget that the film takes place in Virginia, his, and my, home state. Awkward lines like "Are we <i>ever</i> going to get out of Richmond?" and "Thanks for coming out in this crazy Richmond weather" really hammered a nail that I didn't even realize was sticking out.<br /><br />PS to WalkerP - Since you're more likely to see a comment on this thread than on the other one, here's the recipe:<br /><br />Stretch one pound dough into four 6-inch rounds.<br />Top with raw bacon.<br />Bake at 500 degrees until crisp, 10 minutes.<br />Crack an egg onto each crust and top with olive oil, salt and pepper<br />Bake until the eggs set, 5 minutes.<br />Top with baby greens (which we didn't do)<br /><br />The sauce in the picture was a hollandaise from a mix that we had left over.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-23168987977619803992010-03-06T09:09:47.106-05:002010-03-06T09:09:47.106-05:00What Roderick Heath said.
But I still was intrig...What Roderick Heath said. <br /><br />But I still was intrigued by The Box and your review prompts me to put it on the rental list (and also reminded me that it exists, which I had completely forgotten, never a good sign). It did look to have an interesting period look to it. Was that the case?OlmanFeelyushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17521657876810568251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-51465420954048740032010-03-06T07:28:51.532-05:002010-03-06T07:28:51.532-05:00I told ya! Didn't I tell ya Gentlemen Broncos ...I told ya! Didn't I tell ya <i>Gentlemen Broncos</i> was worth a look? And you're right- Jemaine Clement is utterly fantastic and original in this movie. <br /><br />Bill, why are we agreeing so much these days? :)Dennis Cozzaliohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01954848938471883431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-32584306601441939252010-03-06T01:48:10.705-05:002010-03-06T01:48:10.705-05:00I'll confess to being completely bewildered by...I'll confess to being completely bewildered by Richard Kelly's promotion to Major Filmmaker on the basis of <i>Donnie Darko</i>. I suppose Kelly admirably summarises a kind of indie-rock-for-cinephiles aesthetic that squarely caught the imagination of a lot of teens>30-somethings and DD's cleverest idea was to affix the familiar suburban anomie genre to a <i>Twilight Zone</i>-esque plot. But the movie itself had few formal qualities to distinguish it and what I've seen of <i>Southland Tales</i> indicates a director with more ideas than either style or sense. He's a marvellous example of the kind of director whose utter dedication to concept over realisation is remarkably tedious to me.Roderick Heathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08107539379079558068noreply@blogger.com