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Originally Posted by Jasun
Jasun, I have to ask, have you ALWAYS had such a pessimistic view of the world? Honestly, you don't seem to have much good to say about anything apart from porn and heavy metal.:)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jasun
Jasun, I have to ask, have you ALWAYS had such a pessimistic view of the world? Honestly, you don't seem to have much good to say about anything apart from porn and heavy metal.:)
I bow at your feet, Don. You nailed it. : )Quote:
Originally Posted by DonMike
Yeah, but THAT was one helluva depressing, miserable film. HATED it. But Bjork was amazing. :)Quote:
I mean, Dancer In The Dark was one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen. If they had though twice about making it so sad because of the way Iclandic people might be percieved or because they were worried about CD sales of the soundtrack then we would not have such a beautiful movie.
Bravo! Brav-OOOO! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by desslock
Awww, shucks. Heh heh. Thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by XXXWriterDude
You know, the day after Dancer I had to keep running to the bathroom because I would just burst into tears. I mean, it didn't just make me sad, it actually depressed me that someone could go through something so horrible, and the style of the film made it seem so real. Not to mention the fact that stuff that horrible does happen to people. It really bothered me and I will probably never watch it again. But it was a great film.
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Originally Posted by DonMike
I had the opposite reaction. I literally could not wait until it was over. I felt like I was trapped in hell. I'm NOT a fan of Lars van Trier's at all. I find his style of movie-making to be manipulative, inflammatory and hollow. I just kept thinking, "If you would open your fucking mouth, Bjork, and tell the authorities what really happened, you could make all of this go away." But she had to keep this promise--a promise to someone who ended up screwing her over royally. Who was her loyalty to? Certainly not to her kids, who she basically, for all intents and purposes, abandoned. I think von Trier is a bit too big for his britches. He has all these high-minded ideas, but he seems so insistent upon presenting them through manipulative tactics and sensationalism that they all get lost in the moral histrionics. Incidentally, that's the same reason why I can't stand Michael Moore's movies. ;)
Well, not having seen any of his other movies, I didn't have quite the negative reaction. I can understand her sacrificing herself for her kid because she blames herself for being so selfish for bringing him into the world in the first place. She is abandoning him by letting herself die, but she is giving him the gift of site so that he may have a better life than what she could give him.
I saw his first two, and that was enough. I rather liked Breaking the Waves with Emily Watson, b/cuz it was such a fresh approach to filmmaking, but Dancer in the Dark didn't do it for me. He pulled out all the same tricks. His last two movies have been getting pummeled by the critics. Manderlay got an F in Entertainment Weekly, and the critic seemed to share the same opinion as I do about his movies.Quote:
Originally Posted by DonMike
I certainly don't require movies to have happy endings (as I've said many times regarding Brokeback), but I do get really annoyed by filmmakers who seem to go out of their way to tell miserable, tragic stories in which people never have any moments of happiness. I feel like I'm being forced to listen to someone tell me that life sucks and that the whole world is nothing but shit. I refused to even watch The House of Sand and Fog because I covered the script for CAA, and I just remember thinking, "These people are all so mean and hateful to each other, and there's never a single moment where any of them laugh or enjoy life." I loved Ang Lee's The Ice Storm for that reason, b/cuz it was really one of the first movies to really examine that phallacy of the nuclear family being all happy and well-adjusted, but then everyone started making these wretchedly depressing little movies about suburban life in which one of the kids had to die in order for the parents to learn something, and it just seemed that it became this trend to tell these movies about miserable people who lead miserable lives. And that's what Lars von Trier seems to do in every one of his movies. And he's incredibly anti-American. He loves to bash us every chance he gets.
Ken, I think you just nailed why I hated Brokeback Mountain so much.
And it should be pointed out that I HATE Ang Lee movies, and I think he's a stupid turd.
Lest we not forget how lesbians were portrayed in the cimema.
From 1963's James Bond movie From Russia With Love!
http://www.labnet.com/oldthink/new2/rosaklebb2.jpg
http://www.labnet.com/oldthink/new2/rosaklebb1.jpg
I knew you were going to say that. Still disagree with you (I, in fact, see a LOT of hope in Brokeback, not to mention a general sense of optimism amidst all the drama), but oh well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jasun
Well, Jasun, that's a rather unwarranted statement, don't you think? Especially considering the fact that you've never even met the man and really have no foundation for basing such a judgment upon.Quote:
And it should be pointed out that I HATE Ang Lee movies, and I think he's a stupid turd.
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Originally Posted by XXXWriterDude
don't be silly. I say bitter things about porn too.. haven't you heard my schpiel about the "Gay 4 Pay" phenomenon?
And I say nice things about motorcycles and puppies all the time...
I just hated a bunch of gay themed movies.. is that so wrong?
I didn't say I "KNOW" he's a stupid turd, just that I THINK he's one.Quote:
Originally Posted by XXXWriterDude
after seeing him interviewed after the Golden Globes saying "I had no idea there were so many gay people" even though he's made not one but TWO movies about the dysfunctional familes of gay peope who know they have gay people in their families and yet say or do nothing but pretend they don't have gay people in their families.
And after seeing what a hash he made of HULK, I feel justified in saying ANYTHING negative about him short of "He's a puppy-eating Alien from Mars".. and even then, I could probably make a case...:joker: :jasun:
Well, they don't have gays in China, do they??? LOL!Quote:
Originally Posted by Jasun
You keep returning to this theme in many of your arguments. Honestly, I don't understand this insistence on your part that filmmakers should be faulted for telling stories that mirror reality. Nobody in my family (other than my cousins, who are my age) wants to talk about my sexuality, even though we all know I'm gay. It's just unspoken. It's how they want it, and I have to respect that. You're saying I shouldn't be allowed to write a story or make a movie that reflects that experience because it's "not good for gays"?Quote:
...even though he's made not one but TWO movies about the dysfunctional familes of gay people who know they have gay people in their families and yet say or do nothing but pretend they don't have gay people in their families.
Having met and spoken with Ang Lee specifically about Brokeback, I can tell you, your impression of him is way off base. I've honestly never met such a gentle man. And I love his movies, always have. I think, more than any other filmmaker out there, he captures the human experience the best. He understands the things that often define us and drive our actions -- longing, heartbreak, alienation, fear, loneliness -- and he turns them into cautionary tales about why NOT to let those things define you or drive your actions. He turns misery into something incredibly hopeful. But I suppose you'd have to be an optimist to understand that...Quote:
And after seeing what a hash he made of HULK, I feel justified in saying ANYTHING negative about him short of "He's a puppy-eating Alien from Mars".. and even then, I could probably make a case...:joker: :jasun:
;)
I've never said anything about being "Good for gays"... I'm just saying that why make a movie that's already been made a million billions times already? I mean.. Geez.. they only made 9 Airport movies because they got predictable...Quote:
Originally Posted by XXXWriterDude
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He turns misery into something incredibly hopeful. But I suppose you'd have to be an optimist to understand that...;)
You see the glass as half full. I see it as smashed on the edge of the table on the broken shards ground into your face. It's all about balance.
I'm sure Ang Lee loves his children too.. I just think he makes boring movies about boring whiney people who just sit there do nothing about anything until the die or go back to China.
Just my impression and it's not going to change.
Well, by that token, why make porn? It's all been done before. Why make another romantic comedy? Why make another action hero movie? Just about everything in the arts these days is a variation on some other theme, just repackaged for different audiences. I felt Brokeback had a fresh perspective; you didn't. I can go with that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jasun
Oh, I knew that a long time ago. You're a stubborn puppy... ;)Quote:
Just my impression and it's not going to change.