MJs Sing-Along Blog: Seahawks won the Super Bowl, Woo Hoo!

[Mighty Jack]

Probably not, it would be too much work.

[Torgo]

Lazy.

[Mighty Jack]

Yup Also, I'm not as interested in that part of it. I always skim or skip those parts of the books and blogs. Maybe I'm more into the technique of film, the cinematography, direction and the whole collaborative effort that goes into it? I don't know -- but I tend to zero in on the movie as a whole and ignore the individual efforts in these award type blogs.

While I like actors and have favorites, I think I'd have a more difficult time differentiating one from the other. As Bogart once said, the only way to really know who the best actor is, is to have them all play the same part. Otherwise it's apples and oranges.

And I'm having trouble just picking between the apples and oranges in this category.

What I think might be fun though, is to do this for specific genres. Like best Sci-Fi/Horror/Fantasy

[Mighty Jack]

1978
Days of Heaven (Director: Terence Malick)
Nominees: The Last Waltz, Coming Home, Midnight Express

Oscars pick: The Deer Hunter
Nominees: Coming Home, Heaven Can Wait, Midnight Express, An Unmarried Woman

As I get older, my tastes mature and become a bit more sophisticated, and sometimes my opinions on certain things swing wildly from what they were 30 years past. Case in point -- in 1978 I thought the Deer Hunter was one of the most daring statements on the war as I'd ever seen. Watching it today its emotional impact is dampened. It feels contrived, there's less depth than I remembered and Michael Cimino -never a director who understood the need to tighten things up- stretches out the film long after the point has been made. The first hour alone is a slog and could have been cut in half and not lost a thing.

On the other hand - 30 years ago I thought Days of Heaven was this overlong bit of nothing. All I remembered of it was pretty pictures of people sitting around in empty fields. Watching it today, its tale of hardship and romance and heartbreak as told through the eyes of a young girl, is mesmerizing. The visuals are beautiful, like Andrew Wyeth's "Christina’s World" come to life. And the movie is considerably shorter than I thought (and shorter than what we now get from Terence Malick).

Its poetic structural rhythms struck a chord in me, and it struck that chord without the manipulations and excess found in Deer Hunter. There's an economy, even the quiet moments where it appears nothing is happening... something is happening. Everything on that screen is important to the feeling, and composition and tempo of the film. Days of Heaven is criticized as having no point, of being too emotionally distant but I like how Roger Ebert summed it up in his review... "What is the point of ``Days of Heaven''--the payoff, the message? This is a movie made by a man who knew how something felt, and found a way to evoke it in us. That feeling is how a child feels when it lives precariously, and then is delivered into security and joy, and then has it all taken away again--and blinks away the tears and says it doesn't hurt."

I don't hate the Deer Hunter, but it's not the film I thought it was. Heaven on the other hand reveals itself as something more: A hypnotizing work of poetry and art.

Heaven's strongest competition came from one of the greatest rockumentaries ever filmed, Martin Scorsese's look at The Band, in The Last Waltz. It was the only other movie I seriously considered for the Felix and I highly recommend it.

[Mighty Jack]

1979
Alien (Director: Ridley Scott)
Nominees: The Marriage of Maria Braun, Mad Max, The Onion Field, The China Syndrome, Life of Brian, Tess

Oscars pick: Kramer vs. Kramer
Nominees: All That Jazz, Apocalypse Now, Breaking Away, Norman Rae

I had a love/hate thing going on with a lot of films in 1979. Manhattan, Woody Allen's love letter to his city equally delights and annoys. Coppola's Apocalypse Now ebbs and flows, there are some amazing scenes but it also rambles, especially in the wispy final reel (and Brando's best work was seen in the documentary Hearts of Darkness). Oscar winner Kramer vs. Kramer was overall just okay. I guess I wasn't as moved by it as I was supposed to be.

Knowing I wouldn't be going the same rout with other writers and critics, I had to go hunting for something... anything. Which is actually going to be a pattern for me over these next 5 years. Top rated movies and I didn't see eye to eye.

After a brief search two bubbled to the top: Ridley Scott's Alien and Ranier Werner Fassbinder's Marriage of Maria Braun.

Braun tells of this woman's ambition, her climb from rags to riches and the men she uses and sleeps with in order to get to the point in her life where she and her husband can have the life they (she?) wants. But thematically it is also about the decadence of post war Germany. It's a black comedy of sorts (not really funny "Ha Ha", but rather "funny/clever") – The script is razor sharp, there are lines of dialog that are among the best I’ve heard this side of Wilder, Allen or Towne. Though it indulges in these moments of strange theatrics, where the music suddenly swells and someone does or says something melodramatic, the movie -for the most part- kept me glued to my seat. And not because it was action packed, but because of the compelling human drama that was unfolding before my eyes.

But just a shade above it, maybe a half of a point on a grading scale, I place Ridley Scott's sci-fi horror classic, Aliens. While the film draws from several sources -from "Jaws", to "2001" to "It: The Terror From Beyond Space". And adds in a liberal sprinkling of the 'old haunted house' bit- it still feels fresh. Watching it again, I found it as scary and nail biting as it was when I first saw it. And I admire the way Scott takes his time with it - creates a certain rhythm and slowly builds on the tension.

A few of the FX haven't aged well (actually I don't know if the Ash 'real head/fake head' thing ever look good) but most of it works – and the innovative Alien designs from H.R. Giger makes for the most unique and terrifying creature ever seen on screen.

The picture features many an iconic moment – such as the Chestburster scene, which was all the talk when it was first released. Like a late 70s version of the shower scene in Psycho, it created a buzz. The picture also made a star out of Sigourney Weaver (who was first seen in a small part in Annie Hall). The actress earned an Oscar nomination, which was surprising (considering the genre) and well deserved. In this age of Resident Evil's and Underworld's, we might forget that there was a time where it was unheard of to cast a women as the key figure in an action oriented feature.

[Torgo]

I disagree. There's one creature more unique and terrifying than the Alien, and I can't look at it without getting nightmares for a week...

[Mighty Jack]

AAAAAAAAAAAAA! The acid it burns, her tongue it bites AAAAAAAAAA!

[Torgo]

Roger Moore found out the hard way.

[Mighty Jack]

May 30, 2012 4:33:57 GMT -5 @standardtoaster said:

May 29, 2012 23:30:29 GMT -5 Mighty Jack said:

A few of the FX haven't aged well (actually I don't know if the Ash 'real head/fake head' thing ever look good)

Actually, in one of the documentaries, they show the fake head and it looked pretty good for the time. Unfortunately, the material used started to shrink, probably because of the hot studio lights and that's why it ended up looking as badly as it did in the movie.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN2hAOkOjL8&feature=plcpskip to 2:30

Yeah I have the DVD and have seen that - what I was speaking of is that sometimes what looked good when we first see a thing, doesn't age well years later. But I don't think I was ever convinced by it, even in 1979. And even if the head hadn't undergone damage, the transition from fake to real would have been odd looking.

[Mighty Jack]

Uhg, it’s the 80s. I was often not in tune with the masses on this decade, at least not until its later half. For example: I thought E.T. (1982) was transparently manipulative (the mean Government guys march over the hill, while poor E.T. looks pale and sickly… Ohh, doesn’t just turn your heart to goo? No, actually it doesn’t!) The sentimentality made me cringe and the noisy, busy kids gave me an earache. It was painfully cloying, like when the spaceship takes off it leaves a rainbow in the sky, Gah! Gag me with a Reese’s Pieces!

And that’s just one of several popular films that fills me with apathy or flat out disdain.

So gird up your loins, the next four years are going to be… interesting.




1980
Ordinary People (Director: Robert Redford)
Nominees: Atlantic City, Airplane, Coal Miner's Daughter, The Elephant Man, The Long Riders, Kagemusha, Raging Bull

Oscars pick: Ordinary People
Nominees: Coal Miner's Daughter, The Elephant Man, Raging Bull, Tess,

I think Oscar did a great job; they selected 5 outstanding features and bestowed the top honor to the best film of 1980. Oscar got it right, damn it!

This year gets under my skin, primarily due to an alternate Oscar blog and in particular Danny Peary's book, which lavished praise on Ordinary People and then manufactured all manner of lame excuse for why it wouldn’t be selected, mostly due to popular opinion. Ordinary People is no longer the trendy choice, so the writers buckled under critical pressure and took Raging Bull instead. Which begs the question, what happens if the next generation of film viewer adopts Airplane, Atlantic City or Coal Minors Daughter as the years best? Do you switch allegiances? Change your blogs and rewrite your books? Personally I'm not into mob rule. If you genuinely prefer Ordinary People, and you spend time articulating its strengths over any other film, then at least have the grape nuts to stick to your guns.

Yes, Ordinary People was particular to 1980. Filmgoers and critics embraced it warmly. And yes, since then it has fallen out of favor -bowled over by the juggernaut Raging Bull - which has replaced it as the consensus favorite. But I'm not writing this piece to appease the masses (or even the huddled few here). And neither should anyone else who undertakes this endeavor.

Both movies are dark and painful examinations of a human soul in turmoil. Jake La Motta in Bull is violence personified – violence is all he knows, it’s the only way he deals with situations. Conrad Jared in OP is a person shattered by a tragic event for which he can't forgive himself, and worse, can't find forgiveness from his own mother.

I remember this year and what it was like to view Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull. It was a raw, blood and guts story, and the scenes in the ring were some of the best boxing footage ever filmed. But I rarely felt like I got into the mind of the character, even when he was used up and old at the end - and the only time he became fully human and engaged me was the scene when he breaks down in tears after throwing a fight.

Ordinary People was difficult as well, but I'm more in tune with its sensitive, damaged protagonist (Timothy Hutton), than I am with an emotionally stunted bully. I got to know these people and was fascinated by the thorny family dynamic, Mary Tyler Moore was a revelation, branching beyond her usually likable, bubbly personality and delivering the dramatic goods like I never expected. The uncomfortable and awkward conversations between mother and son were beautifully acted and painful to watch. This was Robert Redford's directorial début and aside from the voiceover flashbacks being cheesy (especially during the jogging scene, where Donald Sutherland's expression says all that needed saying) the fair-haired actor helped create a picture that Roger Ebert described as "Intelligent, perceptive and deeply moving."

Raging Bull I respect on its technical filmmaking merits (rather than on story or characterization) and on those merits I nominated it. I think Scorsese is not only a genius but a genuinely likable person, with a deep love and respect for film history that I admire. But I'd rather sit through Louis Malle's brilliantly written and acted Atlantic City (which nearly took the Felix), or the Loretta Lynn biopic, Coal Miner's Daughter, or the hilariously silly Airplane, and most especially the emotionally resonant Ordinary People. If that makes me an idiot in some people eyes so be it. But at least what your getting here is my honest opinion and not one filtered though the Rotten Tomatoes aggregate scoring system.


Of Note: Berlin Alexanderplatz does not make this list because it was first shown on TV

[Torgo]

In retaliation to the falseness of MJ's opening paragraph, this post coincided with the news of ET's BluRay release, and it will very much joy for all.

Except MJ.

[Mighty Jack]

Just wait till you see what I crap on tomorrow. There are no sacred cows.

[Torgo]

It's Raiders, isn't it? Will your sucking know no bounds? Indiana Jones > James Bond

And I'd like to add "It's the 80s! Do a lot of coke and vote for Ronald Reagan!"

[Mighty Jack]

among others... I don't hate Indy, I just think it's waaaaaay over praised. And frankly if I'm watching stuff inspired by serials, I'd rather watch the Rocketeer.

Anyway I'm getting backed up - I have a blu ray for Once Upon A Time in America to watch, nearly 4 hours long. I also wanted to rewatched Jean de Fluerette/Manon of the Spring, which is another 4 hours and Amadeus, which is nearly 3 hours?

I have everything written to 1983, and I think 85 is set, but the others years are a blank page. So I expect some slow downs after this week.

[afriendlychicken]

May 30, 2012 23:40:26 GMT -5 Torgo said:

In retaliation to the falseness of MJ's opening paragraph, this post coincided with the news of ET's BluRay release, and it will very much joy for all.

Except MJ.

Don't forget about the chicken. I hate E. T. too. I can't wait for MJ's views on it. Damn pointy fingered Alien that can levitate but forgets that fact when it was most important to it. You know, like when your ship is leaving you behind!

God I hate that movie...

EDIT: Torgo, I think the movie he may be pooping on is "The Empire Strikes Back." It would have been available for the Oscars in 1981. Let's wait and see...