What's the last movie you've seen?

[Sibboleth]

Can't stand Loach, for the most part. I will make an exception for Kes.

[Gustaf]

Can't stand Loach, for the most part. I will make an exception for Kes.

Haha, somehow I could almost guess. Why not? Is it overdoing it?

[Sibboleth]

Can't stand Loach, for the most part. I will make an exception for Kes.

Haha, somehow I could almost guess. Why not? Is it overdoing it?

My cultural tastes are utterly predictable, yes.

This will be less than entirely coherent... but... leaving aside some serious issues I have with Realism with a capital 'R' (and Loach is, and always has been, absolutely a proponent of that), much of Loach's work tends to present a particular picture of working class life and claims that this picture is an essentially accurate portrait of reality (and, thus, we must overthrow the system comrades, etc). But I come from a working class background and do not really recognise working class life (or working class values, actually) as depicted by Loach. Not just because he tends to display the traditional tendency to just focus on the most deprived elements (which is still deeply problematic, given his obvious goals), but because he removes the things that make life bearable. And it's those things, and not the 'objective class position' or whatever piece of pseudomarxist jargon seems appropriate, that have always defined working class identity and cultural life. His work is strikingly humourless, for example. So a vision of reality that is actually profoundly unrealistic. And because of that (and the claims that go with it, whether said or unsaid), deeply patronising. Or, to put it in a somewhat clearer (and certainly shorted), way, I think that Loach frequently dehumanises working class people in order to make political points about class and the capitalist system through the medium of film. Which is the point at which you remember who his work is actually made for...

[© Tweed the Younger]

I'm mentally working toward a vast, systematic criticism of you, Al.  just realize it's only so 1) because you're one of the top 3 or so posters here and 2) it won't be out for several months,

[Ghyl Tarvoke]

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I share Al's distaste for Loach, in my case however it is largely driven by that awful film he made on the Irish War of Independence/Civil War.

[Vasall des Midas]

The Singing Detective. BBC mini series, that is.

Al - yes, that's certainly accurate as far as some of them go (Sweet Sixteen anyone?) And the issue is probably there, in the background, as a running theme, throughout. But where is Looking for Eric (and it does have issues) "humorless" - or entirely devoid of the things that make life bearable?

[Sibboleth]

I've not seen Looking for Eric (not even any bits of it, actually) so accept that it might be an exception in the way (well, presumably not in quite the same way) that Kes is.

[Sibboleth]

The Singing Detective. BBC mini series, that is.

What did you think of the teacher?

[Vasall des Midas]

The Singing Detective. BBC mini series, that is.

What did you think of the teacher?

Not hot.

[Sibboleth]

The Singing Detective. BBC mini series, that is.

What did you think of the teacher?

Not hot.

You would rather be greased by a different character?

[Vasall des Midas]

The Singing Detective. BBC mini series, that is.

What did you think of the teacher?

Not hot.

You would rather be greased by a different character?

Quite, quite. Though not if I had to develop psoriatic arthropathy first. Not worth it.

[angus]

Got around to watching Divine Intervention last night.  Some of it went over my head, I think.  I at least understood why it was so entltled.  Mostly it seemed to be about the monotony of life, and the difficulty of meeting with your girlfriend, even when she lives only a few miles away.  I think it also had the feel of a subtle political protest. 

The humor was dry, but clever, and the scenes were well done, but the characters and the plot were underdeveloped, in my opinion.

To use the Hustler scale of movie ratings, I'd put it somewhere between halfway erect and mostly flaccid. 

[Old Europe]

Cinema:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Fincher version)

Otherwise:
Eyes Wide Shut

[Politico]

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Quite good. I might read the book and check out the mini-series.

[patrick1]

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Quite good. I might read the book and check out the mini-series.

I didn't like this movie at all. It was just so plodding and nothing really happened. I was browsing imdb and so many people were confused- by what?- Extended sequences of Gary Oldman swimming? Friends whose opinions I respect really like Le Carre, so I am sure he fleshes out the characters more and there is better pacing in the books.

[Benwah [why on Earth do I post something] Courseyay]

Let me know...

Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood movie. Cute.

The Social Network

Zuckerberg seems smarter in the movie than in real life, also the movie doesn't show the 'monster' everyone said it showed, merely a rather cynical person.

Hackers

lol, 90s, cute. Angelina Jolie is more jolie with long hair than extra short ones.

Shutter Island

DiCaprio likes complex stories. Disappointing end. Also amusing attempt from Scorcese to ridicule conspiracy theories with this movie, not a very balanced one though, it totally discredits the possibility of bad hidden things.

Letters from Iwo Jima

Clint Eastwood movie. Cute too then. I found those Japanese quite Americanized. The exercise to have an 'anti-US' empathy isn't too badly done though, it could have been deeper maybe.

[Gustaf]

The Singing Detective. BBC mini series, that is.

Al - yes, that's certainly accurate as far as some of them go (Sweet Sixteen anyone?) And the issue is probably there, in the background, as a running theme, throughout. But where is Looking for Eric (and it does have issues) "humorless" - or entirely devoid of the things that make life bearable?

Copycat.

Al, your critique sounds very much like what my dad usually says about working class depictions. I think I agree with you on that, basically. Keep in mind, I've only seen Looking for Eric and Riff Raff so our bases for judging Loach have very little overlap.

Incidentally, I'm also watching The Singing Detective, only seen first episode so far though. 

[King]

Gary Oldman is finally an Oscar-nominated actor.  The academy is now slightly less of a joke.

[State Comptroller Atkins]

Gary Oldman is finally an Oscar-nominated actor.  The academy is now slightly less of a joke.

It's a good thing that the title of this thread is "2012 Oscar Nominations", otherwise your post would look a little silly.

[King]

Gary Oldman is finally an Oscar-nominated actor.  The academy is now slightly less of a joke.

It's a good thing that the title of this thread is "2012 Oscar Nominations", otherwise your post would look a little silly.

If someone wants to make that thread, they can.  This is a general movie thread otherwise.

[Politico]

Gary Oldman is finally an Oscar-nominated actor.  The academy is now slightly less of a joke.

I wouldn't call the Academy a joke, but I certainly agree that Oldman was long overdue. I especially enjoyed his performance as George Smiley. Hopefully he wins.

[bullmoose88]

Licence to Kill.

(I still prefer Living Daylights, but it was good.)

[Grumps]

Licence to Kill.

(I still prefer Living Daylights, but it was good.)

At least it wasn't some chicky sh**t you normally like, causing you to lose points on your man-card.

[All life is a blur of Republicans and meat.]

The Artist

Great movie!

More silent films please! It was so nice to watch something where people weren't yelling and screaming at me!

[Hashemite]

Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn part one.

I basically just was Twitlight for the laughs and terrible acting, so I wasn't disappointed. It's gotten even more retarded and the acting is still terrible cheesy stuff for 12 year old girls.