finally watched the recent dune (at home, on 4k). i regret not seeing it in a theater. i will not make that mistake for the next one.
Love this movie, but it is a bit of a tough hang. The music is so great.Rewatched Inside Llewyn Davis last night; it only grows on me with time. I think it's a tough hang, as an exploration of depression/alienation, as well as a depiction of self-sabotage combined with just not quite being good enough to break through. Also, at the time I first saw it I was participating in a standup/comedy community and while I wasn't as prickly as Llewyn I saw a lot of myself in his struggles to square the circle of financial success in art, and as I get older the movie feels like my coming to peace with that just not working out. It's a chain of disappointments, and stories like that often go down hard the first time but the corners and culs de sac are easier to abide when you know to expect them.
One weird story/structure quibble which surprised me:
I distinctly remember going home in 2013 after seeing this movie for the first time and being surprised by some internet speculation that the first scene in the alley and the final scene are the exact same occurrence; it just does not read that way for me. In my opinion, the movie thoroughly shows Llewyn trapped in cycles within and without his control; he keeps making the same bad choices which dig him deeper into the same hole.
The last few scenes, as he wakes in the Gorfiens' house, succeeds in keeping the cat from escaping, and goes to play at the Gaslight, including making the choice to play one of his Davis/Timlin compositions, which to me signals some growth on his part. To me, the exact repetition of Llewyn having "a friend out back" and it being a disgruntled spouse of someone he heckled the previous night is a deliberate repetition to indicate how consistently Llewyn fucks himself over. Plus, the Coens love repetition; it just doesn't read to me as "the first scene was a flash-forward and now here's the full scene with added context;" for me it's giving "the more things change the more they stay the same;" even Llewyn's reaction to the experience comes with some added recognition of the cycle ("au revoir.")
So color me surprised to pull up wikipedia, where the plot description explicitly casts the first scene as a flash-forward to the final scene. I know it's art: it's subject to interpretation; and, hey, the thematic purpose of either structure is the same. Still, it so gets under my skin to see such literalism; "because the dialogue is the same it's the same scene." I just don't buy it.
Shit, now I'm remembering he doesn't wake up at the Gorefiens' with any bruising after the first scene...shit shit shit
Yeah, I enjoy rewatching Coen Brothers films but that one is one that I have only revisited a few times. It’s a good movie but not one where I enjoy the characters nearly as much.Love this movie, but it is a bit of a tough hang. The music is so great.
Curious about your running rank of these like you did with MCU and Pixar!
Started the list. I can safely say that at least until a Craig Bond film (maybe even after) that Goldfinger with be #1Curious about your running rank of these like you did with MCU and Pixar!
It's hard to say with these. So many of them are good because they're so stupid.Started the list. I can safely say that at least until a Craig Bond film (maybe even after) that Goldfinger with be #1
Especially the Moore movies. But I think Die Another Day might be the worst one. But maybe this rewatch will change my opinion on some of them.It's hard to say with these. So many of them are good because they're so stupid.
1970s Elliott Gould is THE BEST!Watched the Long Goodbye for the first time time last night. Only my 2nd Altman film and I enjoyed it a lot more than Short Cuts.
Probably the funniest noir film I've seen and it's influence on films like The Big Lewbowski and Inherent Vice was evident.
Think I'm gonna continue tackling 70s classics. Right now my 10 favorite are probably...
1) Taxi Driver
2) Alien
3) Network
4) Dog Day Afternoon
5) Paper Moon
6) Godfather
7) French Connection
8) Chinatown
9) The Conversation
10) The Long Goodbye
Most overrated--
1) Mad Max
2) Shampoo
3) Rocky
4) Halloween
5) Being There
Open to recs...
1970s Elliott Gould is THE BEST!
A few that come to mind based on this list…
The Parallex View 1974
Three Days Of The Condor 1975
All The Presidents Men’s 1976
Nashville 1975
Five Easy Pieces 1970
Picnic At Hanging Rock 1975
American Graffiti 1973
Shampoo 1975
Being There 1979
Also. If you have only watch two Altman films so far, besides Nashville, You should also give MASH and McCabe & Mrs. Miller a go too (though, I wouldn’t be surprised if both were already on your list).As a Linklater fan, I love me some American Graffiti. It and All the Present's Men are both among my dad's favorite and I was raised on them.
Did not particularly like Shampoo. Found it bland (specifically the characters) and unintentionally misogynistic. I also didn't care too much for Being There when I watched it in college after having read the book... but I might be overdue for a rewatch on that one.
Adding Parralax Views and Three Days of the Condor to the wathlist (which contains the others you mention).