2003 Foreign, Alternative and Independent Films - Page 10

Michael Reuben · 08-29-2003, 01:04 PM

Quote:

I'm glad that films are being discussed ... somewhere ...but don't see why MattS' thread for Dirty Pretty Things got closed.

Right at the top of every closed thread, there's a message telling you to who to contact if you have questions about a closure. And right in the HTF Rules, it says that if you have a problem with a moderator action, handle it in private email, not in the forum. My email address is listed on all my posts.

As for the reasoning behind the existence of this thread and its predecessors, Edwin Pereyra created them and I'll let him explain why.

M.

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Edwin Pereyra · 08-29-2003, 09:52 PM

Quote:

I'm glad that films are being discussed ... somewhere ...but don't see why MattS' thread for Dirty Pretty Things got closed.

I don't know why that particular thread got closed. Could it be that there is already an existing thread that did not get even one single response?

Who knows?

As far as this ongoing thread is concerned, it is in no way to discourage a separate thread to be opened for a specific film for discussion purposes. As always, feel free to do so. I have done the same in the past.

One of the concerns brought up from years back is that, at times, a separate thread would get very little response like the existing Dirty Pretty Things thread from weeks back. Others have complained that a thread like that quickly disappears. This thread is in part, a compromise, and one of the reasons for this thread. With different release patterns all over the country and the globe, one can easily post his/her thoughts anytime one is able to see a film.

Especially now with Jason Seaver's very helpful and organized index at the second post of this thread, one can easily click to a specific review from any member of the forum.

~Edwin

Walter Kittel · 08-31-2003, 12:52 AM

Saw Dirty Pretty Things this evening. Short version - my impressions match up fairly well with those of the other posters in this thread.

The film benefitted greatly from a strong, sympathetic performance from Chiwetel Ejiofor. Tautou was less believable, but still got the job done. The supporting cast was uniformly excellent and the scope of the characters, in terms of their places of origin, really helped the film sell its vision of immigrants living in the cracks of society.

The dialog near the conclusion of the film by Okwe, 'we are the ones who clean your hotel rooms' seemed like a nod to Fight Club and its themes of the disaffected who exist in the fringes.

Pretty solid film. I did have one nagging question though -

Spoiler:

- Walter.

Michael Reuben · 08-31-2003, 08:53 AM

Walter --

Spoiler:

M.

Lew Crippen · 08-31-2003, 10:31 AM

No real time to post much of a critique, but if you have not seen American Splendor rush right out to the theatre. Don’t wait for it to be released on DVD. Great fun, poignant, and innovative filmmaking make for an entertaining and enlightening couple of hours.

One of the best that I’ve seen this year—for those who are not aware it is a film based on the life of the writer(s) of the underground comic of the same name. The film successfully interweaves the actors playing real people and those real people themselves. Cinematography and sets capture the grime and despair of this man’s life extremely well.

Finally a great soundtrack (mostly 50s/60s jazz).

Walter Kittel · 08-31-2003, 12:35 PM

Michael - Thanks for the reply. Your interpretation seems logical and fits what was presented.

- Walter.

Edwin Pereyra · 08-31-2003, 07:53 PM

Quote:

if you have not seen American Splendor rush right out to the theatre.

Can't wait. Two more weeks for me and I'm there.

~Edwin

Brook K · 09-02-2003, 02:49 AM

American Splendor came out here on Friday. I'll try and see it this week, along with The Magdalene Sisters and The Secret Lives of Dentists or Quai D'Orfevres. Shel and the kids are leaving for Austin tomorrow since she's in the wedding and has to be there earlier, while I can breeze in on Friday (if breeze can be used after a 14 hour drive

so I have 3 days of potential visits to the theater. I'm also going to try to watch all of the 3 Colours box in that time.

BrianB · 09-02-2003, 07:36 AM

Quote:

The Secret Lives of Dentists

Saw this on Friday & loved it. In a lot of ways it reminds me of the good things about "One Hour Photo" as both deal with documenting the minutae & humdrum of every day life. I've heard complaints about the ending, but didn't see anything wrong with it - it fitted the scale & scope of the film perfectly in my opinion and the film makers didn't resort to a "cheap thrill".

Michael Reuben · 09-06-2003, 04:32 PM

Party Monster

I enjoyed this film, but I can't recommend it. It's a movie soaked in drugs and, if anything, even more of a downer than Requiem for a Dream. A large part of the appeal for me is that I remember reading the newspaper reports of the events depicted in the film (a big local scandal, of sorts). Otherwise the main thing the film has going for it are the lead performances by Macaulay Culkin and Seth Green (who is brilliant).

Cuklin plays Michael Alig, the impressario of the erstwhile club scene at New York's Limelight. Alig is still in prison for the murder depicted in the film. Green is his friend, teacher, inspiration and co-dependent, James St. James. As Culkin plays him, Alig stands in a line that stretches back to Rupert Pupkin and Suzanne Maretto (of To Die For) -- someone obsessed with being famous and popular and willing to take any shortcut to get there fast.

Culkin presents an often chilling portrait of an opaque character without a scintilla of feeling in his bones. His relationships are all based on power and exploitation, and there is a moment when Green's James looks at him with utter amazement, and you can see that James, for the first time, understands just how monstrous his cohort has always been.

Green has the more colorful part, and the movie loses steam whenever he's not on screen. In lesser hands, James would be a stereotypical drag queen. Green finds shading and depth (but not too much depth -- James too is an exploitative bastard), and he gives equal weight to James's bitchy sense of humor and his frustration at being unable to write anything good.

Dylan McDermott has a small but pivotal role as Limelight owner Peter Gatien, and Mia Kirschner is impressive as his wife, who's the only hard-headed businessperson in evidence. Chloe Sevigny is wasted as a fan who joins Alig's circle, but Diana Scarwid has a few chilling scenes as Alig's mother. At first she seems to be just another of Alig's dupes, but it ultimately becomes clear from whom he inherited his "values".

M.

Edwin Pereyra · 09-06-2003, 11:29 PM

Thanks for the review Michael. At the least, Party Monster looks like an interesting pic.

NEWS FLASH: Andrey Zvyagintsev's The Return grabs the top spot at this year's Venice International Film Festival. Word from the festival - a riveting flick to keep an eye on.

~Edwin