Oh I'm sorry, Did I Break Your Conversation........Well Allow Me A Movie Thread by S&T

[osh kosh bosh]

I really find the education to be a loathsome film, you almost immediately have to hate almost everyone involved in what happens to the main character from the very beginning and them ending seems so screamingly obvious from the every beginning, making you inevitably come to the conclusion..."why am I watching this"

I watched The Omen and The Exorcist for the first time, dope %@+ movies.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

I really find the education to be a loathsome film, you almost immediately have to hate almost everyone involved in what happens to the main character from the very beginning and them ending seems so screamingly obvious from the every beginning, making you inevitably come to the conclusion..."why am I watching this"

I watched The Omen and The Exorcist for the first time, dope %@+ movies.

 

[CP1708]

Where are all the Mean Streets reviews? Need about 14 more.

I vote Strangers on a Train for next week.

 

[CP1708]

Where are all the Mean Streets reviews? Need about 14 more.

I vote Strangers on a Train for next week.

 

[noskey]

Originally Posted by CP1708

Where are all the Mean Streets reviews? Need about 14 more.

I vote Strangers on a Train for next week.

I'll watch it tonight and give a review tomorrow after class. Or maybe tonight if I'm up late enough.

I vote for Strangers as well.

 

[noskey]

Originally Posted by CP1708

Where are all the Mean Streets reviews? Need about 14 more.

I vote Strangers on a Train for next week.

I'll watch it tonight and give a review tomorrow after class. Or maybe tonight if I'm up late enough.

I vote for Strangers as well.

 

[johnnyredstorm]

After owning Mean Streets for 3 plus years, I finally watched it just now and I agree a little with what CP was saying with the rawness of the film and some of the shots being choppy and mediocre (the scene where Charlie's making the deal with Michael, Charlie and Teresa by that pillar by the water (although it did start well, just went downhill shotwise after they kissed--old Hollywood probably would've ended the scene with the kiss and had the convo after it before it, but I liked the way the content transitioned), after that kiss the camera zoomed in pretty jerkily when Charlie is talking about helping Johnny Boy that could've been done better), but overall you definitely saw the potential in Marty with the walking shots that eventually became one of the most infamous scenes in American cinema with the kitchen in Goodfellas, and the scene at the party where Charlie's stumbling around drunk, very well done. Couple of random stuff I loved were the pans to Michael doing the smoke o and then a little later when that GI freaked out and smashed the cake when they panned to him with cake on his suit and in his hair I chuckled a bit; the handkerchiefs before they sat down at the cemetery (that kinda attention to detail is lacking severely in most films these days which is a shame), reminded me a bit of that scene in Taxi Driver when De Niro goes to the deli and feels for the coldest soda in the fridge (he did that on his own, btw); the drink blessing or whatever.

Unlike CP, I kinda liked the music throughout the film, especially that Marty used it for the most part diegetically (being listened to by the people in the film), which explains why it just cuts off after the car hit the hydrant at the end, and mixed in various genres that really captured the different cultures.

Random tidbits from the film that I noticed: Eric Roberts modeled his character in The Pope of Greenwich Village after De Niro's performance of Johnny Boy and took the screwiness a level higher. Tony's restaurant and bar or whatever reminded me a lot of Marsellus Wallace's in Pulp Fiction with the use of red and the long empty shots and I wouldn't be surprised if Tarantino had Tony's in mind; and fell in love with the hallway slash narrow spaces shots that he's used thanks to this film.

Also, I loved the use of red throughout the film, really foreshadowed their demise, and the dilemma Charlie had with following his heart and going after the black chick--definitely an issue the more tolerant second generation Italians have had at one point in their lives, especially during that time.

Overall, because the ending was a bit weak (would've liked them to flesh out the actual encounter with Michael and built up to it more instead of him spotting them and shooting right away), I'm gonna have to give it a 7/10 and recommend anyone that really enjoyed this film to check out The Pope of Greenwich Village since it's a pretty similar story and fleshes out the whole conflict with the mob thing more.

Good film, though, glad it got voted on since it was really cool going back and seeing Scorsese and De Niro at the start of something tremendously special.

For the following week, I'm gonna go with An Education since I'm curious to see how the chick's life changes and how far things go.

 

[johnnyredstorm]

After owning Mean Streets for 3 plus years, I finally watched it just now and I agree a little with what CP was saying with the rawness of the film and some of the shots being choppy and mediocre (the scene where Charlie's making the deal with Michael, Charlie and Teresa by that pillar by the water (although it did start well, just went downhill shotwise after they kissed--old Hollywood probably would've ended the scene with the kiss and had the convo after it before it, but I liked the way the content transitioned), after that kiss the camera zoomed in pretty jerkily when Charlie is talking about helping Johnny Boy that could've been done better), but overall you definitely saw the potential in Marty with the walking shots that eventually became one of the most infamous scenes in American cinema with the kitchen in Goodfellas, and the scene at the party where Charlie's stumbling around drunk, very well done. Couple of random stuff I loved were the pans to Michael doing the smoke o and then a little later when that GI freaked out and smashed the cake when they panned to him with cake on his suit and in his hair I chuckled a bit; the handkerchiefs before they sat down at the cemetery (that kinda attention to detail is lacking severely in most films these days which is a shame), reminded me a bit of that scene in Taxi Driver when De Niro goes to the deli and feels for the coldest soda in the fridge (he did that on his own, btw); the drink blessing or whatever.

Unlike CP, I kinda liked the music throughout the film, especially that Marty used it for the most part diegetically (being listened to by the people in the film), which explains why it just cuts off after the car hit the hydrant at the end, and mixed in various genres that really captured the different cultures.

Random tidbits from the film that I noticed: Eric Roberts modeled his character in The Pope of Greenwich Village after De Niro's performance of Johnny Boy and took the screwiness a level higher. Tony's restaurant and bar or whatever reminded me a lot of Marsellus Wallace's in Pulp Fiction with the use of red and the long empty shots and I wouldn't be surprised if Tarantino had Tony's in mind; and fell in love with the hallway slash narrow spaces shots that he's used thanks to this film.

Also, I loved the use of red throughout the film, really foreshadowed their demise, and the dilemma Charlie had with following his heart and going after the black chick--definitely an issue the more tolerant second generation Italians have had at one point in their lives, especially during that time.

Overall, because the ending was a bit weak (would've liked them to flesh out the actual encounter with Michael and built up to it more instead of him spotting them and shooting right away), I'm gonna have to give it a 7/10 and recommend anyone that really enjoyed this film to check out The Pope of Greenwich Village since it's a pretty similar story and fleshes out the whole conflict with the mob thing more.

Good film, though, glad it got voted on since it was really cool going back and seeing Scorsese and De Niro at the start of something tremendously special.

For the following week, I'm gonna go with An Education since I'm curious to see how the chick's life changes and how far things go.

 

[duba169]

i'm 2/3 done with mean streets so i will post the review later.

Synecdoche, New York is my vote

 

[duba169]

i'm 2/3 done with mean streets so i will post the review later.

Synecdoche, New York is my vote

 

[mronegative]

Seeing how I been putting off Mean Streets for a week...I'm gonna go newer movie and vote Synecdoche.
Almost watched it yesterday til CP threw me off.

I'll watch it a little later.

 

[mronegative]

Seeing how I been putting off Mean Streets for a week...I'm gonna go newer movie and vote Synecdoche.
Almost watched it yesterday til CP threw me off.

I'll watch it a little later.

 

[duba169]

the pool hall fight scene was vintage scorsese.

also liked the part where one of them got in the cage with that animal. reminded me of the stories you hear from time to time of ppl in the city with wild animals

joey boy was a jerk off. those type of people always drag you down in life. Even though they are usually fun as hell to chill with. Definitley met a few people with his tendencies

part with the gay guys in the car was some good comic relief

when kietels's character was walking down the hallway of the hotel with theressa there were shapes that looked like crosses all over the wall. guess that had something to do with keitel's character wondering about repentance and helping others.

what did that drunk guy do to disrespect the relative or whoever of the very young guy who shot the drunk? didn't quite catch that

i loved the scene with johnny boy tring to shoot the lights out of the empire state building.

they were kind of vague with what each of them did crime wise. know johnny was on the truck loading crates

the music was overused but i loved it most of the time. Some amazing acting. Plot wasn't anything special. I thought the ending was pretty good.


I give it a 7.3 but i bet if i saw it when it came out i would give it a higher rating

 

[duba169]

the pool hall fight scene was vintage scorsese.

also liked the part where one of them got in the cage with that animal. reminded me of the stories you hear from time to time of ppl in the city with wild animals

joey boy was a jerk off. those type of people always drag you down in life. Even though they are usually fun as hell to chill with. Definitley met a few people with his tendencies

part with the gay guys in the car was some good comic relief

when kietels's character was walking down the hallway of the hotel with theressa there were shapes that looked like crosses all over the wall. guess that had something to do with keitel's character wondering about repentance and helping others.

what did that drunk guy do to disrespect the relative or whoever of the very young guy who shot the drunk? didn't quite catch that

i loved the scene with johnny boy tring to shoot the lights out of the empire state building.

they were kind of vague with what each of them did crime wise. know johnny was on the truck loading crates

the music was overused but i loved it most of the time. Some amazing acting. Plot wasn't anything special. I thought the ending was pretty good.


I give it a 7.3 but i bet if i saw it when it came out i would give it a higher rating

 

[johnnyredstorm]

One thing I forgot to mention is how well written the movie is. There's clever dialogue all over the place (I'd give examples but I don't really feel like remembering).

 

[johnnyredstorm]

One thing I forgot to mention is how well written the movie is. There's clever dialogue all over the place (I'd give examples but I don't really feel like remembering).

 

[lawdog1]

Originally Posted by Big J 33

Whenever we start the discussions and if people post reviews, we should try to keep them as concise as possible. I'm not looking to read a dozen essays off the bat, I'm sure we'll get into plenty of good discussion on each movie anyway.

In other news, Cars 2 is Pixar's worst movie, at least according to critics. It's getting crushed, and I can't say I'm surprised. The first one was my least favorite from Pixar and I figured this one wouldn't be too much different.

I saw Cars 2 on Friday with my son.  It may be Pixar's worst movie, but that doesn't make it a bad movie by any means.  I still enjoyed it quite a bit.  Visually, its amazing.  The story leaves a little something to be desired and I thought the climax scene dragged on a little too long, but it definitely keeps you entertained and has plenty of laughs.  Its a much different film than the original in terms of story and scope.  So, someone who didn't like the first could still like the sequel.    

  

 

[lawdog1]

Originally Posted by Big J 33

Whenever we start the discussions and if people post reviews, we should try to keep them as concise as possible. I'm not looking to read a dozen essays off the bat, I'm sure we'll get into plenty of good discussion on each movie anyway.

In other news, Cars 2 is Pixar's worst movie, at least according to critics. It's getting crushed, and I can't say I'm surprised. The first one was my least favorite from Pixar and I figured this one wouldn't be too much different.

I saw Cars 2 on Friday with my son.  It may be Pixar's worst movie, but that doesn't make it a bad movie by any means.  I still enjoyed it quite a bit.  Visually, its amazing.  The story leaves a little something to be desired and I thought the climax scene dragged on a little too long, but it definitely keeps you entertained and has plenty of laughs.  Its a much different film than the original in terms of story and scope.  So, someone who didn't like the first could still like the sequel.    

  

 

[noskey]

Here's my quick notes "review" of Mean Streets.

Moved slow at times.
Never felt compassion for the characters until the last 30 or so minutes.
Kept me interested though.
DeNiro and Keitel were obviously great in their roles.
The writing and dialogue was great. Keitel and DeNiro gave the appearance that they'd been friends for years and just had that kind of chemistry.
Ended too abruptly and left me wondering what happens to everyone.
Bar fight between the two groups in the beginning was lulz.
The lions were confusing lulz.
Like CP said, it looked, sounded and felt raw.
Unlike CP, I liked the music when I noticed it.

6/10 overall. Nothing I'd watch again, but nothing I'm upset about watching.

 

[noskey]

Here's my quick notes "review" of Mean Streets.

Moved slow at times.
Never felt compassion for the characters until the last 30 or so minutes.
Kept me interested though.
DeNiro and Keitel were obviously great in their roles.
The writing and dialogue was great. Keitel and DeNiro gave the appearance that they'd been friends for years and just had that kind of chemistry.
Ended too abruptly and left me wondering what happens to everyone.
Bar fight between the two groups in the beginning was lulz.
The lions were confusing lulz.
Like CP said, it looked, sounded and felt raw.
Unlike CP, I liked the music when I noticed it.

6/10 overall. Nothing I'd watch again, but nothing I'm upset about watching.

 

[mronegative]

Mean Streets gave me a new respect for how Black Dynamite was shot. I remember watching this in middle school and not being about the quality or story at all. I think I skimmed through for titty and called it a day. Even tried watching it last week but still hated the quality. I got lucky enough to find a bluray of it and it's the first time I could really take in the movie without feeling like I'm watching some Zapruder +$%$.

It's a really one note film. One that I think would've been easily forgotten if the director didn't %$$$ around and become Scorsese. This is to Goodfellas what El Mariachi was to Desperado. So many familiar things and ideas, even if they don't exactly have direction...or tension...or a plot...or narrative.
But the acting gets really good later on. DeNiro becomes Johnny Boy and Keitel gets much stronger when he's away from him. The movie's simple but it's good and just a slice of life like Nos said, from the abrupt start to the abrupt end.

In the first half...the style is a little too natural. It feels like a lot of it's improvised, even though you know it's not. It even hits that sweet 'time to tune out, pass out, eject disc or delete' spot. But it was worth getting through...no way I finish the movie if it wasn't for this thread.

7.5 because Young Keitel > Young Liotta, easy

 

[mronegative]

Mean Streets gave me a new respect for how Black Dynamite was shot. I remember watching this in middle school and not being about the quality or story at all. I think I skimmed through for titty and called it a day. Even tried watching it last week but still hated the quality. I got lucky enough to find a bluray of it and it's the first time I could really take in the movie without feeling like I'm watching some Zapruder +$%$.

It's a really one note film. One that I think would've been easily forgotten if the director didn't %$$$ around and become Scorsese. This is to Goodfellas what El Mariachi was to Desperado. So many familiar things and ideas, even if they don't exactly have direction...or tension...or a plot...or narrative.
But the acting gets really good later on. DeNiro becomes Johnny Boy and Keitel gets much stronger when he's away from him. The movie's simple but it's good and just a slice of life like Nos said, from the abrupt start to the abrupt end.

In the first half...the style is a little too natural. It feels like a lot of it's improvised, even though you know it's not. It even hits that sweet 'time to tune out, pass out, eject disc or delete' spot. But it was worth getting through...no way I finish the movie if it wasn't for this thread.

7.5 because Young Keitel > Young Liotta, easy

 

[CP1708]

Do we want to keep a tally on the movies?  So for Mean Streets right now, we would have

CP  7/10
Johnny 7/10
MrO 7.5/10
Noskey 6/10
Dub 7.3/10

Do we want to keep this somewhere?  Or just ignore it and move on?  I suppose I can at least name Mean Streets reviews in the TOC.  Then if people want to go back someday and read the reviews they'll know where to start....

 

[CP1708]

Do we want to keep a tally on the movies?  So for Mean Streets right now, we would have

CP  7/10
Johnny 7/10
MrO 7.5/10
Noskey 6/10
Dub 7.3/10

Do we want to keep this somewhere?  Or just ignore it and move on?  I suppose I can at least name Mean Streets reviews in the TOC.  Then if people want to go back someday and read the reviews they'll know where to start....

 

[kevin cleveland]

I say keep the ratings. I will watch Mean Streets at some point tonight and chime in.

Tallying up the votes:

Strangers on a Train - 4
An Education - 2
Synecdoche, New York - 2
Into the Wild - 0
The White Ribbon - 0

Still need plenty more.