tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post5170863987273969670..comments2024-03-27T21:42:56.131-05:00Comments on 1001plus: Pick Your PoisonSJHoneywellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-24100644724021016362012-03-16T09:51:16.289-05:002012-03-16T09:51:16.289-05:00I just reviewed Requiem for a dream over at my blo...I just reviewed Requiem for a dream over at my blog. Difficult to love, impossible to forget! (actually I also said that recently about We Need to talk about kevin)<br /><br />Yes, Ellen Burstyn ought to have beaten Julia Roberts for the oscar that year. But I guess Gena Rowlands was robbed of an academy award for amazing work in A Woman Under the Influence, when Ellen Burstyn won in 1974 for Alice doesn't live here anymore. So having an oscar already I suppose Burstyn can't complain, even if her performance was much better in Requiem for a dream, than Alice.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09395044055566348346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-72463063333333612082011-01-24T08:52:45.709-06:002011-01-24T08:52:45.709-06:00One of my co-workers, knowing this obsession of mi...One of my co-workers, knowing this obsession of mine, was talking with me about movies last week. It's worth noting that this guy is a comic book geek, so the topic went to comic book movies. He wanted to know what I thought of films like <i>300</i> and <i>Watchmen</i>.<br /><br />I'm not a Zack Snyder fan, and the main reason is that the fast-mo/slow-mo battle sequences drive me crazy. Those are camera tricks for the sake of camera tricks--"let's make the fanboys pee their pants!" Aronofsky uses his camera and his camera tricks to make a point, not to look cool.<br /><br />The scene you're talking about is the top of the hill, the highest point anyone gets to. The moment that camera switches position and Harry notices that Mom is a speed freak is when the rollercoaster car has started its long, unstoppable drop--and we learn this from a camera placement. That's genius.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-36592933046419738582011-01-24T01:42:17.477-06:002011-01-24T01:42:17.477-06:00This is far and away Aronofsky's best film! I...This is far and away Aronofsky's best film! I am a regular Aronofsky booster too, but this film is so visceral, intellegent, engaging, and captivating that there is no competition.<br /><br />My favorite shot in the entire film happens when Harry has just presented his mother with the new television, and they are sitting at the table by the window. The window is to the back fo the camera and each of the actors is evenly lit, and happy about the promise of the future. Hearing something, Harry turns and looks over his shoulder, and the camera comes with him switching to the other side of the conversation, and facing the window.<br /><br />Now each of the actors is back-lit, and in harsh shadow. Harry realizes that his mother is exhibiting the characteristics of someone hooked on speed, and suddenly the cracks in the veneer are showing through. Fan. Tas. Tick!<br /><br />Also, never has Clint Mansell's music been more instrumental or effective in terms of setting tone and driving the story.<br /><br />Awesome movie!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-74421222178291569602011-01-21T21:53:02.916-06:002011-01-21T21:53:02.916-06:00You may not like it. In fact, you may well be repu...You may not like it. In fact, you may well be repulsed by it, particularly at the end. However, I think of anyone I know, you'll be able to appreciate it for what it is.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-90996676037923580792011-01-21T18:24:13.688-06:002011-01-21T18:24:13.688-06:00Aronofsky's a pretty cerebral director, isn...Aronofsky's a pretty cerebral director, isn't he? I saw his "The Fountain" right around the time Mom was sick, and read the film as an exploration of one man's desperate struggle against, and tentative reconciliation with, a loved one's death. "The Fountain" got mixed reviews, but I was deeply touched by it.<br /><br />Great review. I'll have to watch "Requiem."Kevin Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01328790917314282058noreply@blogger.com