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Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 10:31:22 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Morrens Manuel <mmorrens@minf.vub.ac.be>
Subject: re:[MV] Traffic - 2000
>
>--- Mel Eperthener <bcassidy@usaor.net> wrote:
>> Sorry, guys. Tho I think both movies you mentioned were
>> deserved of the
>> nominations, the best movie of 2000 didn't even get the
>> nod: Wonder Boys.
>
>
>**** I liked Wonder boys a lot but only gave it a 3.5/5 ...
>compared to 4/5 for Traffic and 4.5/5 for Requiem for a
>dream.
>
>
OK, I liked Traffic and Wonder Boys very much, but 4.5 for REQUIEM? (spoilers coming up I suppose)
It's not that it was bad. I liked it, but the end destroys half what's good in the movie. I mean what's with the electroshocking? It doesn't happen that way. And those images from the sex orgy. Or the operation on the arm? Those are cheap ways toshock. I mean, you can have a stronger effect doing so in a much more subtle and realistic way. I thopught it was excellent, until the 5 last minutes. Such a shame....
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 14:30:19 +0100
From: MARK DAINTY <MARK@zippack.co.uk>
Subject: RE: [MV] Traffic - 2000
> > Peace.
> > -Rebecca, who really wants to see "Requiem For A Dream"
> > and can't wait for
> > "Tomb Raider" to hit theatres!
>
> -----
>
Tomb Raider?????? - Noooooo, it's truly awful, almost without
any redeeming features, (hey I can think of a couple, but then again I'm
just a red blooded male) :-)
Seriously, it is a dire waste of 2 hours of your life that you
will never get back.
MARK
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 16:53:49 -0700 (PDT)
From: Marc Desbiens <marcdesbiens@yahoo.com>
Subject: [MV] The Pledge - 2001
*** I'll add my comments .. I had kept this message in my
inbox for a while until I could see the film ...
- --- Alric wrote:
> This was a movie I had forgotten about until it landed on
> the Movie Gallery
> shelf. While looking at the box, I remembered when it
> had its theatrical
> run, but it didn't seem at that time to be the sort of
> thing necessary to see
> on the big screen;
***** IMO it's not even worth seeing on the small OR the
big screen ... it was a huge disappointment for me, not
that I think it is GODAWFUL, it is actually quite watchable
in part but the film is so long and mildly boring too, it
doesn't know in what direction to go, sometimes it's a
thriller, other times it's more a drama ... It consistantly
misses the bull's eye though ... not even close ... I was
certain this was a sure bet for a "Thumbs up" but it ends
up at 2.5/5 for me. There's even a 0.5/5 bonus due to the
"star power" ... If this movie was made with unknown and
so-so actors it would drop to 2/5.
nothing would be lost in the viewing
> experience by waiting
> until the DVD release. I'm glad I waited. This is
> definitely a movie to
> enjoy in the quiet of your living room.
***** Well, it wasn't worth paying 8$US to see it on the
big screen ... or 3$ to rent it ... I would say it was
worth around ... mmmmmm ... 2$ ... ;-)
> Something to note about this film is, it's directed
> by Sean Penn. Penn
> comes across to me as an intelligent but edgy person, a
> man more comfortable
> on the Hollywood fringe because it allows him a freedom
> he would otherwise
> have to sacrifice under the direct glare of the superstar
> spotlight.
***** I really thought it would be good but Penn is 10
times better as an actor than as a director ... This goes
into every direction, same as "The indian runner" he also
directed ... "The crossing guard" .. that was him too,
right ?? It was better but only slightly ... It's very hard
to make terrible films with Nicholson though. The camera
work was sub par, shaky images, quite often the camera was
aiming off center for reasons unknown ... shaking images,
bizarre, I thought it was very amateur-ish ... Also at one
point the image is all fuzzy, I was wondering if he had put
vaseline on the lense or what ?? Artsy fancy shots of the
beautiful nature a-la Terrence Malick in "The thin red
line" but in that other film it worked a lot better.
He
> picks odd roles and odd directorial projects. He's an
> ARTIST. I read
> somewhere that he thought highly of the writer Charles
> Bukowski (the central
> character in movie BARFLY, definitely a man with a taste
> for the underbelly
> of life, played by Mickey Rourke), and once shared a limo
> with him to some
> movie event (I submit that as evidence of how highly Penn
> thought of
> Bukowski).
Penn's performances in AT CLOSE RANGE and
> DEAD MAN WALKING were
> absolutely brilliant, and if you haven't' seen SWEET AND
> LOW DOWN, you're
> really missing something. Penn is always charismatic, in
> my opinion. When I
> saw his name as director of THE PLEDGE, it was only
> logical that I expect
> something offbeat.
**** Yes, as I said I think he is brilliant as an actor ...
so why does he keep on trying to direct films ??
> In fairness, I admit when I watched it the first
> time, THE PLEDGE felt
> slow. But that's only because the beginning was so
> horrific, my adrenaline
> revved up for a thriller.
***** Well, there are a few shocking moments ... but
quickly the movie goes into this uninteresting second third
that is quite frustrating to sit through. The last third
is just plain frustrating ... cos' nothing happens, dead in
the water ... grrrr !
Jack Nicholson plays returning
> homicide detective
> Jerry Black. During his retirement party (he has only
> six hours before he's
> officially retired),
**** Those coppers retiring are soooooooo busy ... Duvall
chasing D-Fence in "Falling down", etc. ;-)
his supervisor (Sam Shephard)
> receives a call that the
> body of a butchered little girl has been found deep in
> the woods in the snow
> . Black, though he's on the eve or retirement,
> accompanies the investigative
> team to the crime scene.
**** I didn't buy that myself ... the guy has 6 hours to go
before he's off to a vacation and retirement and he's
roaming the countryside ... Did he think he would solve the
case in 6 hours ?
The sight of it disturbs him.
> But even more
> disturbing, when he speaks with the little girl's
> grieving parents, the
> mother makes him swear an oath that he'll find the
> killer, thus "the pledge"
> referred to in the title of the film.
**** Good scene there ... but I kept thinking it was
unlikely he would have sworn ... you can't really "promise"
to catch a killer, I mean come on ... especially on his
last day ! The whole thing was very unlikely. He gave in
so quickly too, phew !
Within a day or
> two of the murder, a
> mentally handicapped man (Benicio Del Toro) is picked up
> for the crime and is
> manipulated into confessing. But Black doesn't believe
> the man did it.
**** I didn't even recognize him at first, I didn't watch
the opening credits closely so I didn't know he was in this
... This bizarre character wanders in and all of a sudden I
am thinking .. this looks like Del Toro ... and it was him
! lol ! He has long hair that hides half his face though
and was obviously playing a drunken and mentally challenged
fool.
> I don't know if this is considered a spoiler or not,
> but I'm going to
> tell you straight out: This is not so much a movie about
> a serial killer as
> it is a character study of a man obsessed with doing the
> right thing, a man
> seeking closure for himself and for the parents of the
> little girl.
**** I would have preferred either a straight forward
serial killer film or a drama ... not a mix of the two ...
mixing those two elements ruined the film for me ... well,
mayb enot ruined but made it a lot less interesting !
It's
> important that you know at least that much going into
> this movie, because I'm
> only now realizing that it was a better film than it felt
> when I was viewing
> it. Nicholson plays Black with amazing reserve when you
> compare this
> performance with his typical near-Joker persona in almost
> everything else
> (admit it, when you heard he was going to play the Joker
> in BATMAN, you knew
> it was the perfect choice). Some stand-out actors appear
> briefly in odd
> places for brief roles during Black's private
> investigation, such as Helen
> Mirren as a psychiatrist, Mickey Rourke as the bereaved
> father of a previous
> victim of the serial killer, and Vanessa Redgrave as the
> grandmother of the
> girl murdered at the beginning of the film.
**** Yes, as I said this is star powered ! But they would
have needed a few good SCRIPT WRITERS as well !
> Contemplating it now at this
> moment, and thinking about the interviews with these
> people, as I'm writing
> this, I'm thinking that this was a film about unmitigated
> sorrow.
**** "I'm a man .. of constant sorrrrrrrrrrow ..." ... sing
it !! ;-)
> What I'm trying to say is, this is not a thriller,
> and if you go into
> this movie thinking it is, you will not like this movie.
**** I was thinking it was, even the cover box makes you
think that ... deceiving. That's what disappointed me.
not enough thriller OR drama to be good either way.
> I watched the
> trailer on the DVD, and how these people advertised this
> film was an absolute
> crime in itself. Every harrowing scene was packed into a
> single
> quick-cut-filled minute. It was VERY misleading.
> I'm not going to score films anymore, because those
> things are really
> meaningless. I can say that if you're in the right mood,
> and you know what
> your getting, THE PLEDGE is a good movie.
>
***** It is a must see only if you are a big fan of Jack
Nicholson .. other than that you can skip it ! 2.5/5
=====
Marc ;-)
" TODAY - you people are no longer MAGGOTS ...
TODAY - you are MARINES, you're part of a brotherhood ... "
