Maybe someone could explain to me the fascination over History of Violence. I have seen it twice and find it visually enjoyable and fairly thought-provoking, but not that great. I can think of at least two movies which deal with the same basic theme which I I think are considerably better, State of Grace and The Proposition. I always enjoy a Cronenberg movie, and this is probably in the top half of his films, but hardly the cream of the crop. Why have so many people chosen this one to go buggy about?
great story, great execution, stunning performances, and the themes are fantastic. Plus I think most people roll their eyes at the 'i can't shoot someone I'll be TRAUMATIZED WAAAAAAAAAH' approach most violence gets when 'normal' people meet with it. Most of us have grandparents or parents that fought in World War II, experienced and dealt out a lot of violence and came back and led perfectly normal lives, they were able to turn it on and off as they needed to without being some whiny bitches about it. Of course there were a lot of people that were traumatized (witness the insensitive treatment Patton doles out in Patton), but that's beside the point. There aren't any whiny bitches in History of Violence.
Plus its hella fun and badass to watch.
I found it brilliant and thrilling on every level, I'm looking forward to a revisit, to see if it holds up to scrutiny and if it even improves on each viewing like a handful of modern classics such as Fight Club do.
I don't get the fawning over Wallace and Gromit. predictable at every turn, kinda fun, but just mostly goofy, nowhere near as good as the shorts, clever and well done, but overall just average. But it's claymation with beloved characters and british accents and everyone goes kinda nuts over it.
It's my lack of passion for "History" (though I liked it), as well as "Were-Rabbit" that has kept me from voting in this round. I consider myself a Cronenberg fan, but on second viewing "History" dropped from what I consider top-tier Cronenberg (Dead Ringers, Spider, The Fly, eXistenZ, Naked Lunch, Crash... also Shivers), and now represents for me the best of Cronenberg's "mainstream" films (like "Scanners", which I think is OK, and "The Dead Zone", which I can't stand). There are some extraordinary scenes in "History", but on the whole I felt it to be something less than Cronenbergian perfection. Maybe a third viewing would change my mind again?
And I think the themes of "History" (at least that bit about something shameful emerging from one's past that violently disrupts one's present) are sufficiently similar to "Cache" to make something of a comparison, and I found "Cache" to be the superior film by quite a margin. And on subsequent viewings of "Cache", my estimation has only increased.
And as much as I like "Were-Rabbit", it didn't charm me quite as much as "A Close Shave" or "Chicken Run".
Unfortunately, the films I have a real passion for from last year are all out of the tourney by now. :frowning: