[Closed] Recent Viewing Part III

More port mahap dear chap?

God, I just returned from two depressing films at a film industry seminar I'm attending. One was Ulrich Seidl's GLAUBE (the second of this PARADISE trilogy), the second was Thomas Vinterberg's JAGTEN. Didn't like either, although they had some redeeming features. GLAUBE reads more like a dark comedy.

Tomorrow is more mainstream, as Zemeckis' FLIGHT and LO IMPOSSIBLE are on the menu.

With a shield an axe and a war cry I should think.

Do you find similarities with Von Trier?

In the beginning, maybe. Now I'm not sure. Von Trier is on a whole other visionary level.



I didn't feel that. I felt it was too forced and strained in its effort to heighten the intrigue. The dialogue was written just vague enough to let the others interpret it in the worst possible way. Also, some of the social gatherings in the community was exaggerated and clichéed.

It was bit like reading a Fay Weldon story -- I get more provoked by her exaggerated rhetorical style than I get to identify and sympathize with her feminist ideas. So it becomes too self-aware and falls back on itself.

The chain of events might be realistic, but the execution/dialogue/dialogue patterns weren't IMO, and that took me out of it.

I know what they were trying to do -- the whole H.C. Andersen idea about one feather turning into five hen and also how the village community works as one collective (explored in many other films) -- but I didn't buy it.

The film really needed ONE character who made sense, whose reaction was straightforward and realistic and that we could identify with. The bearded friend of Mikkelsen was that to a certain extent, but he's introduced as a supporter much too late. We should have seen some of the events through his eyes in the hero's transition period.

I also think it should have ended earlier, perhaps when Klara's father and Mads are sitting in the sofa, or when Mads lifts Klara over the tiles. The final hunt sequence just felt too literal (we get it already -- he's never supposed to feel safe and it plays upon the double entendre of the film's title!).

Yes, a little bit. It's not a Dogme film like FESTEN. But very sparse and restrained.

Heightened emotions enhanced by Fernando Velázquez's score?

There's a guitar theme in the first act and end credits. IMHO, not very noteworthy.

I was just talking to my friend, also named Tim and he said he's not sure if he could sit through Lo Impossible, some people here will remember how concerned I was for him back in 2004 knowing that he was on a Thai beach, since then he says he can never relax on a beach ever again, not even something as safe as a UK beach.

Well, I didn't get much Morricone from the score, except maybe vaguely in the melancholic reunion theme. Perhaps it's easier to catch on album.

Just seen the new TOTAL RECALL, the extended version. I actually like it. Love how it sticks close to the Philipp K. Dick universe in production design, as it could basically take place in the same universe as BLADE RUNNER.

I'm interested to see it, so thanks for the reminder

ps, Starship Troopers the isolated score does indeed unravel a masterful score, deserving a complete edition as quickly as possible

I think it's very likely that we'll see an expanded STARSHIP TROOPERS eventually. I have a b**t of the complete and there's some great material not on the Varese release.

I enjoyed the first film. The first 10 minutes or so of the second film was awesome... and then it all went down hill after that. I loathe LeBeouf, Michael Bay used to make movies I really enjoyed, and I can't say I will ever spin Jablonsky's scores ever again.

-Erik-