More good movies we've seen.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Plan 9 From Outer Space. Nuff said.

You say this to a guy who looks like Tor Johnson?

Haha, well, maybe Tor Johnson with a beard....

Tor's grandpa.

[Clinton Huxley]

Plan 9 From Outer Space. Nuff said.

You say this to a guy who looks like Tor Johnson?

Haha, well, maybe Tor Johnson with a beard....

Tor's grandpa.

Plan Zilla From Outer Space. I'd watch that.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

[Gawdzilla Sama]

"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" doesn't belong in this thread.



It's fucking silly.

[Ayaan]

Yes it was.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Yes it was.

"I'm the little engine that couldn't."

[Ayaan]

Although, the 3D was pretty damn good. It was better than I've seen in most of the recent 'blockbusters.'

Yes it was.

"I'm the little engine that couldn't."

[orpheus]

Posted this over on RatSkep, but I'm so taken with this movie right now, I had to post it here too. Apologies if that's against the rules.

I just watched Lars von Trier's Melancholia last night. What an extraordinary film.

Being bipolar myself, I can attest to the accuracy of the portrayal of someone afflicted by this illness. It's so painful to watch. What was even more impressive, I thought, was the portrayal of what it's like for others to live with someone who is bipolar. The terrible effect it can have on relations with others. By its nature, the disease affects one's perceptions, feelings and thought processes, so it's very hard - if not impossible - for a sufferer to see how he/she is affecting others. For von Trier, who suffers from depression himself (I don't know if he's bipolar) to be able to do this so accurately is amazing.

Moreover, everyone talks about how the first half of the film (focusing on the clearly ill Justine) is such a good portrayal of bipolarity. But - and this is even more amazing - I thought the second half of the film equally showed the course of the disease in another way; most the other characters fell into it as well. Not just Claire, but her husband - even the butler (who unexpectedly withdraws completely). Only the son is willing and able to maintain some semblance of the denial of reality one needs to remain healthy.

In a way, it's the opposite of what a lot of people say. They say the first half is from Justine's point of view, and the second is from Claire's. I think it's just the reverse. The first half is about Justine, but it's from an external point of view; it's what bipolarity looks like from the outside. The second half is about Claire, but it shows what this malady feels like from the inside. The second half of the movie is permeated by an increasing tension - a sense of hopelessness and impotence in the face of impending doom. This is very much part of how this horrible illness feels.

Visually, the film is amazing. So beautiful. I wish I'd seen it during its brief run in the cinemas here in NYC rather than on my latop; visually I'm sure it lost a lot. Even so, the cinematography was stunning. There are some images I know I'll carry with me for a long time. (Some of these are of the formal garden, as seen from the terrace of the house. I see I'm not alone; others have commented on this as well. I can't help but wonder if this a reference to L'année dernière à Marienbad. I'm sure a filmmaker of von Trier's ability and background is familiar with this movie. But if it is a reference, I'm still trying to figure out the connection. BTW, as I've said elsewhere, I think Marienbad is possibly the greatest film ever made. See it.)

My one gripe has to do with the use of the prelude from Act I of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. Not that I don't think it a perfect choice; I do. I've always felt something eerie about that music. Yes, it's the prelude to a very long opera about doomed love. Plus, it seems to intimate a much more all-encompassing impending cataclysm. It has always given me a horrid feeling of this is it. So what's my complaint? The editing. I know this music inside-out. I've conducted it. And I always found it jarring when he cut bits out in order to make the music fit the scenes. (I realize this is very nit-picky of me, and that most people won't notice - or if they notice they won't care. But the film is so exquisitely crafted on so many levels, this one bit of sloppiness kind of stuck out for me.)

Anyway, highly, highly recommended.



edited to add: I've read so many bad reviews about this one, and a lot of them criticize the film for not being more of a sci-fi movie about the end of the world. The feeling seems to be that it was false advertising; that the trailer made so much of the destruction of the earth that they thought it would be like Armageddon. Yes, the planet Melancholia does hit the earth. Yes, the earth is destroyed. (This isn't a spoiler. We see it at the very beginning.) But this planetary drama is also metaphorical, and it's linked to the human drama, which takes center stage. Both are catastrophic; both are shown with wide-open eyes.

http://www.rationalskepticism.org/film- ... l#p1363412

[Ian]

The kids, the wife and I saw Brave yesterday. Another excellent movie by Pixar.

I could listen to Scottish accents all day.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Cool! On the list!

[Pappa]

This is awesome:

[tattuchu]

Brave looks bland to me, and derivative. It's like How to Train Your Dragon with a girl instead of a boy, and a bear instead of a dragon.
But it's Pixar. So I'll give it a chance. Prolly go see it next weekend.

[Pappa]

Brave looks bland to me, and derivative. It's like How to Train Your Dragon with a girl instead of a boy, and a bear instead of a dragon.
But it's Pixar. So I'll give it a chance. Prolly go see it next weekend.

It's not Brave. It's a Danish film called Ronal the Barbarian.

[tattuchu]

Brave looks bland to me, and derivative. It's like How to Train Your Dragon with a girl instead of a boy, and a bear instead of a dragon.
But it's Pixar. So I'll give it a chance. Prolly go see it next weekend.

It's not Brave. It's a Danish film called Ronal the Barbarian.

The others were talking about Brave before your post. I was just adding my two pence...a little late

[Pappa]

Brave looks bland to me, and derivative. It's like How to Train Your Dragon with a girl instead of a boy, and a bear instead of a dragon.
But it's Pixar. So I'll give it a chance. Prolly go see it next weekend.

It's not Brave. It's a Danish film called Ronal the Barbarian.

The others were talking about Brave before your post. I was just adding my two pence...a little late

Yeah, Rachel just told me that a few minutes ago.