IdleRich

IdleRich
Although, Baboon, I should say that I haven't told the whole story there. You meet the characters... and then... the second half of the story isn't so realistic per se, it's just you believe cos you already believe. I don't think of it as a particularly "you" film is what I'm saying but maybe I'm wrong. I'm certainly not backtracking.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Though you lived in Berlin right? Should ring true to you I think.
Seems the film has an effect on lots of people - so many breathless reviews on IMDB but Liza and I were the same - lying awake going "but why didn't they?" or "Couldn't they have..." and "If only".
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Tbh it wouldn't be the sort of film I'd normally reach for immediately, that's true. But it sounds like there's enough substance there to match the style. Didn't live in Berlin, but I was there quite frequently for a few years, so I'm always interested to see representations of the city on screen

Edit:I watched this last night. By about 30 minutes I found my attention wandering a bit, but I thought they really turned it round with the piano scene in the cafe. From then on I was engrossed, even if (as you said Rich) much of the second half didn't make logical sense. But it made a certain kind of emotional sense to me. Have to agree with this review in part http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/victoria-2015 - for me it's Laia Costa's performance that transforms what could've been an uninvolving film into something much more, rather than any technical ingenuity (don't agree with that review's idea that the film ran out of steam before the end though - I thought some of the last scenes were some of the best).

"you are left with a feeling of emptiness when the film ends and you discover you have lost those people. That you never had them" - the way I interpreted it was that this is exactly how Victoria feels about these people who she has only met a matter of hours earlier, once the adrenalin has subsided, and so you as the viewer are sharing in that emptiness with her.
 
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IdleRich

IdleRich
"you are left with a feeling of emptiness when the film ends and you discover you have lost those people. That you never had them" - the way I interpreted it was that this is exactly how Victoria feels about these people who she has only met a matter of hours earlier, once the adrenalin has subsided, and so you as the viewer are sharing in that emptiness with her.
Exactly.

By about 30 minutes I found my attention wandering a bit,
I think that this is a necessary consequence of a realistic portrayal of some kids meeting in the street in that way.

But overall you enjoyed it?
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Yeah, I enjoyed it a lot - thanks for the recommendation. In the end I would have been quite happy if the film had gone on an hour longer, which is always a good sign. I really believed in the character.

Another thing that just occurred to me - this was that rare film that, had the episode turned out to be 'all a dream/fantasy/reverie' in the mind of the main character, it would have been interesting (as an investigation of her state of mind) rather than annoying.

(The club scenes had a dreamlike quality themselves of course - I thought they were extremely well done.)
 

droid

Well-known member
Not unreservedly recommended, but I think Creed did as good a job as could be expected. Some decent montages.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
'Creed' is great, except that the final fight was really anticlimactic IMO.

The first fight he has in front of a crowd was absolutely thrilling, though.
 

rubberdingyrapids

Well-known member
creed was cool, though i didnt know why they had to make the fight scenes look like boxing on TV. if i wanted to watch boxing on tv, id stay at home and watch boxing on tv. stallone actually DOES deserve the oscar nomination i reckon. michael b jordan is def good, but his performance/character is a bit too understated i think to really get more plaudits (which makes sense as the film feels a bit indie at times). also, he only fought that british boxer, not a big bear like dicaprio, so yknow, something they could think about for creed 2.

interesting thing about creed though is how it turns the rags to riches story on its head though. first film about a middle class boxer?
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
The first fight wasn't like boxing on TV, the camera was in the ring with them. Can't remember but I thought the second fight was like that too?

Unless you mean that it was presented fairly realistically, as opposed to the absurd way it was depicted in 'Rocky'. I preferred it that way, personally - makes it seem more credible and I got more invested in it.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
interesting thing about creed though is how it turns the rags to riches story on its head though. first film about a middle class boxer?

Yeah, that was a nice twist on things. If 'Creed' is intending to present things in that archetypal way that 'Rocky' did (ultimate instance of this is probably Rocky 4: the man of the people 'merican vs the evil commie robot), then what is it 'saying'?

I guess money ultimately doesn't 'matter', is part of the take-away. After all, when he's living in the LA mansion he's miserable, and he has to go and train in a really tough area in order to find his inner champ.

Interesting to consider these things. One presumes there IS a social message of some sort, given the Director previously made Fruitvale Station http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2334649/ (anyone seen that, btw?)

I liked the thing where he would size up an opponent and their stats would come up on screen. A fun reminder that the film IS entertainment, not strictly realistic.
 

droid

Well-known member
Watched Philomena and spotlight over the weekend. Philomena is Coogan's worthy moment, and Spotlight was packed with good actors and sturdy enough - but strangely detached.
 
So... Victoria... I hate to add my name to the list of people saying what an incredible and immersive experience it is, but it fucking is... Just watch it if you haven't seen it.

I watched this last night, without subtitles up until the last 30 mins due to a technical hitch which, if anything, made it more immersive (my patchy knowledge of German probably being about the same as Victoria's). And the Mephisto bit in the café... amazing.
 
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baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
that was a fantastic scene, wasn't it? arguably the best of the film imo. I like the immersive theatre twist you added to it...

A very different type of film - It's a Disaster is one of the few I've seen that manages both to be consistently funny and also dramatically involving. A bit of a bizarre triumph, I thought. I saw it as a kind of companion piece to Coherence - two great indie films in the apocalyptic-bourgeois-dinner-party niche (channelling Buñuel)...
 

Kemper Boyd

New member
The Lobster

New to here so apologies if this has been discussed/dissected. Intrigued to know any thoughts?

I thought it was great, seemed to articulate the atomising and alienating 'tech-mod' world of interfaced relating,(stunted face-to-face engagement) online dating (things in 'common'). The orchestrated fear of being left on the shelf etc.

Didn't understand the visits to the Chief Loner's parents, mind
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Welcome! I haven't seen the Lobster, but the subject matter is incredibly interesting, given that I've had plenty of exposure to the (potential?) horrors of online dating. I was slightly put off because I found Dogtooth a real grind, but I may well give this a watch...
 

rubberdingyrapids

Well-known member
the witch is one of those horrors that isnt really a horror until the final 20 mins or so. a bit like kill list actually. and quite a few other modern horrors.
 
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