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When I was 9 years old my parents took me to see "Amarcord" (Fellini) and that move may have been what changed my life. I'm talking about the boobs scene.

Seriously though I think when I was a kid and saw What's Up Doc? I became a movie addict from that moment. It's a pretty bad movie in retrospect but tell that to a 6-year old.

I used to run a "cine-club" and both French Connection and Deer Hunter were screened at it, and neither went over all that well. I think expectations were higher. French Connection in particular looked very dated to most of the group. I could sort of appreciate that it was influential, but was a decade of car chase movies really an influence to be proud of?

I know there are a few West Countyers on this board. Did anyone else used to attend the Saturday morning free "kiddie" matinees at the Creve Coeur Cinema in the 1970s? In the 1980s in high school I worked at that cinema. So if you remember a little Italian guy carrying a billyclub flashlight telliing you to take your feet off the seats, there's a good chance it was me.

clement wrote:When I was 9 years old my parents took me to see "Amarcord" (Fellini) and that move may have been what changed my life. I'm talking about the boobs scene.

Seriously though I think when I was a kid and saw What's Up Doc? I became a movie addict from that moment. It's a pretty bad movie in retrospect but tell that to a 6-year old.

I was already a huge movie geek prior to Taxi Driver, but it was all mainstream stuff. I loved Spielberg's movies (and still do), but this just added a whole new layer and it's probably where my tastes in everything started to diverge from that of my friends. (I also lost interest in baseball or any sports) This was around 1989/1990, so a ton of indie stuff broke through that year. I watched Sex Lies, and Videotape many, many times, and then later Hal Hartley's stuff. And consequently I could no longer talk about movies with my friends

I should add that it's great to have a Dad who encourages this kind of stuff. Big shoes to fill, I have.

The interesting thing is that back when they came out, movies like Taxi Driver, Chinatown, and even Midnight Cowboy were pretty much mainstream. That all changed in 1977 because of Star Wars, and people like your idol Steven Spielberg. Thankfully that pendulum has shifted back in the other direction a tiny bit. The blockbusters are still the blockbusters, but at least movies like No Country and Blood are not just relegated to tiny art house cinema like they were throughout much of the 80s and 90s.

clement wrote:The interesting thing is that back when they came out, movies like Taxi Driver, Chinatown, and even Midnight Cowboy were pretty much mainstream. That all changed in 1977 because of Star Wars, and people like your idol Steven Spielberg.

Jaws is the best movie of all time, so it was worth it.

after i saw "ernest goes to camp"...i knew i wasn't the same

The movie that turned me from "Hey, movies are fun to watch" to "If I could do anything with my life this would be it" was...wait for it:



Weird eh?

Vicky Cristina Barcelona - (8.5/10) Finally! I'm a huge Woody Allen fan and think that some of his 1970s and 1980s movies are some of the best American movies made in my lifetime. But after Deconstructing Harry in 1997, he seemed to lose his muse. Although he's had a few glimmers of hope during those years, it's been really difficult watching him also make some embarrasingly bad movies over the past 10 years. It's hard to believe that the same man who wrote and directed such gems as 'Manhatten', 'Annie Hall, and 'Hannah and her Sisters' was capable of doing something as pedestrian as 'Hollywood Ending'.

A few years ago he seemed to reignite his creative spark by getting out of New York (the setting for the vast majority of his stories) and he headed to London. He made 'Match Point' which while a weaker retelling of the main philosopical story told in the excellent 'Crimes and Misdemeanors', at least re-established him as a competent storyteller (and earned himself an Oscar nomination to boot). He stayed in London for his next movie, 'Scoop', which while still okay, was less well-received. So now he heads south to Barcelona as the setting of his latest movie. And with a romantic Spanish backdrop, Woody has made what is easily his best movie in a decade.

A love pentangle involving the very charismatic and attractive fivesome of Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, Rebecca Hall, and Chris Messina provides plenty of twists, turns, drama, and hilarious moments to make the 96 minute runtime seem too short - a rare feeling to get when you walk out of a cinema. The story explores the difference between two women's philosophies in love. Vicky (played by Hall) is completely rational and is all about stability, commitment, starting a family, and living the picket fence dream. Cristina (played by Johansson) is far less rational, with her primary drivers being passion, excitement, lust, and having grand experiences, both romantic and sexual. In reality, the story is played out by two characters, but is really a meditation on the internal struggle every person feels as they try to balance both of these powerful desires.

Bardem and Cruz are the intringuing, exciting and sexy temptations, while Messina plays the part of the stable (and rich and boring) path. Obviously Woody's biases come to the fore in how he portrays his protagonists, but he still leaves the ending quite open to different conclusions. The side story involving Clarkson and her loveless marriage provides a nice continuity to the overall plot.

The movie certainly isn't perfect. I've always maintained that somewhere in the late 1990s Woody lost his touch with real people. And this movie still has some of that clunkiness and awkward dialogue. And it's amusing to see his protagonist taking jabs at American materialism while she rides in her lover's Alfa Romeo while staying at luxurious villas and hotels. In Woody Allen's world it seems like everyone is either an artist or Wall Street investment banker and nothing in between. But these are just minor quibbles - what matters is whether or not he can tell a story that the "non-elite" can relate to, and in 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona', he has succeeded.

Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall, and especially Penelope Cruz put in fantastic performances, and Messina is pasable as the regular guy who is easy to dislike. Scarlett Johansson on the other hand has a few too many moments where her acting ability are highly dubious, which is too bad because even I have a hard time taking my eyes off of her when she's on screen. The Spanish setting adds a lot to the romantic mood of the film. One thing that might put some off is the narration, which at times seems a little too omnipresent. But in retrospect, I thought while it could have been toned down a little, it was a nice way to tell the story, making the movie seem kind of like a little fairy tale on film.

Just saw Persepolis tonight.

As far as the animation itself goes, the style isn't groundbreaking and you can see equally good 2d animation on several Cartoon Network shows. However there are several inspired artistic choices, and it does suit the story. I was a little confused at times, as there's a lot of background the movie is trying to convey. It's refreshing to see Iran from an Iranian point of view instead of what we usually get from the news, and a good reminder of the oppression those people are dealing with.

i saw religulous this afternoon. i enjoyed it...especially one religion.

Jocephus wrote:i saw religulous this afternoon. i enjoyed it...especially one religion.

Your hair is on fire!