Best movie of 2007 so far.....

AloysiusK said:
It is interesting how the absolute majority of films discussed at this website are violent, big commercial movies. Every now and again you'll get a foreign film or a comedy or even non-genre defined film, but they area few and far between.
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Many of us wish it otherwise, but it's a demonstrable fact that violent content makes entertaining movies/stories, just as motorists will slow to rubberneck an accident scene (I bet you do too), but zoom right by the picnic grounds.

It's anthropological, fundamentally. And it's taught in every acting and screenwriting book and class. "Extraordinary circumstances" is what it's called there, and just like the driving analogy, without conflict, you don't have either an interesting character or story. There's nothing more extraordinary than a life-or-death struggle, either literally or figuratively, and so there it is in most successful films. Not to mention other works, like most of Shakespeare, for example.

Then there's the financial side. Movies cost an awful lot to make, and need to make a lot for their creators to survive. Bigger excitement = bigger box office.

If you want pure feel-good with absolutely no conflict, your entertainment dollar might be better spent on music. The rules are different there. More often than not, it's love that binds that medium together.
 
AloysiusK said:
It is interesting how the absolute majority of films discussed at this website are violent, big commercial movies. Every now and again you'll get a foreign film or a comedy or even non-genre defined film, but they area few and far between.
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I think that is simply a reflection of the size and scope of this community.
This is one of the most popular forums there is, so it doesn't seem so weird that the discussions would be in line with the box office.

More people see the 'big commercial movies' and so more people discuss them.

Would it be good to discuss other movies as well?
Of course, and they are discussed - I would guess in proportion to their distribution and popularity.
 
Violence is fine, but it doesn't have to be so dumb, like a videogame. Nor does it have to be distributed like candy for the ADD crowd.

I would rather see a movie that the pathology of the violence is explored and not glossed over without any consequences. Taxi Driver does this. Full Metal Jacket does this.

Other films provoke thought about why the violence is happening, sometimes without an answer, but they are constructed so that the audience is forced to think about it and have food-for-thought. Michael Haneke does this really well with Funny Games and The Time of the Wolf.
 
You are right about it being a big community, though. That's why I end up getting into disagreements. Its such a random mix of different tastes. Unfortunately for me, I don't like the majority of films talked about here.
 
departed was pretty much based off violence....but i dont consider it a violent film....if that makes any sense.
 
Agreed baseer.

I'm not sure who likes violence for violence' sake. I love horror films but the gore aspect is the part I don't dig about them; it is the thrills and suspense leading up to it.

War, on the other hand, is a spectacle. No doubt about watching that trainwreck and finding it, if anything, curiously fascinating.

It is interesting how the absolute majority of films discussed at this website are violent, big commercial movies. Every now and again you'll get a foreign film or a comedy or even non-genre defined film, but they area few and far between.
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You'd be surprised at the variety of tastes in here; not everything is a celebration of big commercial films; on the contrary, if you were paying attention, you'd see many, many users bashing the Hollywood cookie cutter system.

Start some threads on the films you do enjoy, and you'll find some willing supporters of them and more than willing to discuss them. No need for elitist insecurities here.
 
Best of:
Michael Clayton
Once
Knocked Up
King of Kong

High hopes for:
American Gangster
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
The Darjeeling Limited


Wow, aside from those 4, I can't think of hardly any worth mentioning. And a lot of the Oscar-season movies look like trainwrecks, too. Some of them literally.
 
Not to be a jerk, but I wanted to check this thread to know what people's opinions were as to their favorite '07 films.

Can we start another thread for the "significance of violence in film" discussion that seems to be thriving here?

I wouldn't complain, but it's been going on for a few days now with this thread.
 
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AloysiusK said:
You are right about it being a big community, though. That's why I end up getting into disagreements. Its such a random mix of different tastes. Unfortunately for me, I don't like the majority of films talked about here.
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I only gave you crap because you seemed to be insulting people who have a different taste in movies than you.
I actually agree with you largely about movies that glamorize violence, but in a society where more and more kids are murdering people every day, I would rather them watch movies that glamorize heroism, and inspire kids to be a protector of others, than movies that show them that if they become a serial killer they will be famous. When I was a kid, I loved Schwarzeneggar and all those guys because they were heroes. I looked up to them even. I'm not a violent person...... in fact, I grew up to be somebody that protects people. That's fine if you don't like those kinds of movies, and I would agree that there are many (now-a-days) that tell kids that it is cool to be a bad a@# and beat people up. I didn't much care for 300, but Transformers doesn't fit into that category.
BTW my current project (for the past year or so) is a full length anti-action action flick...
 
Movie love said:
When I was a kid, I loved Schwarzeneggar and all those guys because they were heroes. I looked up to them even. I'm not a violent person...... in fact, I grew up to be somebody that protects people. That's fine if you don't like those kinds of movies,
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nicely put.


ANYWAYS....

best comedy: knocked up
 
I was just in the wrong place for me. I actually found a couple fantastic websites that discuss films that cater to my tastes. I should have done this a long time ago, but I used to visit this site 'cause I had DVX100's, I have since moved on to Canon's so it doesn't really even make that much sense for me to come here anyway.

"Start some threads on the films you do enjoy, and you'll find some willing supporters of them and more than willing to discuss them."

I've tried on many occasions over the years, but I don't really get any responses. Even in the last couple weeks, I made some postings for the film Control and the film Funny Games(with trailer links and everything), but I got zero responses. Either people don't have access to these movies or they just don't like them so it makes sense to talk with people who do. Plus, these other sites allow for political discourse, yet they remain respectful and productive. I was always frustrated here cause you couldn't talk about some issues that we're examined or rasied in doc's and films.

I'm done threadjacking. Cheers. :)
 
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No offense Aloysius, but you have mentioned several times how you don't like this site, or the films that are discussed on this site, or that this site has nothing to offer you anymore, etc, etc,etc.

It makes one wonder why you continue to post here daily and to traffic this forum. And, it seems kind of pointless to come on here and continually state this... If this forum isn't for you, it's real easy to change the channel :)

Cheers :beer:

later,
Jason
 
AloysiusK, the thing about posting threads about Control or Funny Games is that not much can be said yet, since they are not out yet. I or somebody else can go in and post LOOKS COOL or LOOK LIKE S***, but that is about it, because most people will not be familiar with them. The threads explode once the films come out.
 
funny games has been out for years, a really interesting & affecting film, check it out. i guess this site can be frustrating for european folk to discuss films cause most people here are north american & the majority seem to have an aversion to anything that's subtitled or 'foreign' - nothing wrong with that though - this site is amazing for technical help & a willingness to give so i appreciate it for that & realise that it is best to look elsewhere for film discussion on most stuff that isn't mainstream
 
I am sure the Funny Games thread would have been about the 'remake' with Naomi Watts and I am sure most people never heard of the original, until this new one was announced or they saw the trailer. However it is a great chance to check out Ulrich Muhe (The Lives of Others).
 
AloysiusK said:
There are different ways of handling a violent or even grizzly scene, and obviously the context is going to inform how to tackle it.

With 300, you have an effort to make the action scenes seem hip, ala The Matrix. Getting the audience charged or excited about the exxagerrated choreography of killing people and trying to make it look cool so that the audience will feel a rush from the stylization of the violence.

Since I mentioned Zodiac, a good example is the scene where the 2 lovers are attacked(1 killed) out at the lake. I don't sense that the director is trying to manipulate the audience into "enjoying" the murders. He is attempting to recreate history through the detailed notes given by a real, surviving victim. It is uncomfortable and you want the scene to be over as soon as possible.

I think that it is appropriate that if you are going to show someone getting killed in a film that is based on a historical event, you have a responsibility to try and make the audience feel as traumatized as they would feel as if they were actually there.

With 300, there is pleasure taken from watching people killed. 300 is the kind of film that people will buy on DVD and rewind to watch some scene where someone was killed because it was stylized in such a way that some people would think looks really cool.

I don't get the sense that someone would do that with Zodiac unless they were creepy.
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Very wise reply, seriously
But i'm still curious about what would give you an adrenaline charge in a movie.
Can you share a movie that would provoke an adrenaline charge for u?
cheers
O
 
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