My top 5 desert-island flicks

Jeunet (Amelie)

Lynch (Mulholland Drive)

Sheridan (In the Name of the Father),

Murakami (7 Samurai),

Mallick (The Thin Red Line) best, war-movie, ever

I hated Benjamin Button, it was a rip-off of The Time Traveller's Wife.

cactus flower wrote:

How are things shutuplaura? From the news things look pretty grim in the south.

Hope you and yours are all OK.

Yes personally fine. Not personally affected. Some of the stories though are terrible. One village was physically wiped out and lost an entire third of its inhabitabnts (pop was 200 people). Its terrible. It must be a sign I'm getting old - was in the newsagent this morning and started to get a bit emotional looking at the pictures of missing families that are on the front pages.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25028853-5018723,00.html

snapple drinker wrote:

Mallick (The Thin Red Line) best, war-movie, ever

Its absolutely amazing - I'd recommend Jim Jones two books which the film is based on, From Here to Eternity and The Thin Red Line. A bit macho and gung ho but From Here to Eternity is also incredably thoughtful (and technically not a war novel, takes place prior to Pearl Harbour. The Thin Red line deals more with the psycology of the unit and the unit is the principle charater, a living thinkg with many seperate componanets. Both drip with the nostalgia Jones felt for is youth before and during the war.

The Think Red Line has the plot of the book of the same name but quite a lot of the themes and character monologues and much of the general theme is lifted from From Here to Eternity. The 1950's film version of that book, while actually alright, doesn't touch on most of the more subtle aspects of it.

Not my favourite books or film but very close. Would have liked Mallicks New World had it not been too similar. One three hour film largely composed of length monologues on the frailties of life and the beauty of nature in spite of the uglyness of man is enough.

No point in me making a list as I am bound to change it, depending on my mood. Enjoying a film also depends on the company you are keeping. I enjoyed watching peter greenway, goddard or fellini films in my student days when I roomed with a sniggering pothead with a caustic wit. He helped. Slightly Quirky(not OTT like Airplane) is sometimes better comedy than regular commedy if you know what I mean. Well to me anyway.

On me own I love watching anything by Kubrick, especially 2001 or Barry Lyndon. Music and photography are important and for me I usually prefer style to substance or plot, though in the right context of course.
What I wouldnt give to see Return of the Jedi or Spartacus in the old Ambassador cinema again. Magical. But if I switch on those films on the DVD at home I enevitably fall asleep or lose interest half way. Been seen too many times. Whole different experience in the kino though.

Did anyone see Valkyrie yet and if so what did they think of it? I was going to go tonight but not sure about because we all know the ending already.

I loved Gallipoli, gladiator and slumdog millionaire.

I agree with the comments about Micheal Collins, I read the screenplay before I saw the film and I thought the the film could have been much better. But it probably just shows that your imagination is better then the directors ability.

shutuplaura wrote:

snapple drinker wrote:

Mallick (The Thin Red Line) best, war-movie, ever

Its absolutely amazing - I'd recommend Jim Jones two books which the film is based on, From Here to Eternity and The Thin Red Line. A bit macho and gung ho but From Here to Eternity is also incredably thoughtful (and technically not a war novel, takes place prior to Pearl Harbour. The Thin Red line deals more with the psycology of the unit and the unit is the principle charater, a living thinkg with many seperate componanets. Both drip with the nostalgia Jones felt for is youth before and during the war.

The Think Red Line has the plot of the book of the same name but quite a lot of the themes and character monologues and much of the general theme is lifted from From Here to Eternity. The 1950's film version of that book, while actually alright, doesn't touch on most of the more subtle aspects of it.

Not my favourite books or film but very close. Would have liked Mallicks New World had it not been too similar. One three hour film largely composed of length monologues on the frailties of life and the beauty of nature in spite of the uglyness of man is enough.

+1

The Thin Red Line is magnificent. New World was also fantastic. Both films were astonishing.

Art wrote:

Did anyone see Valkyrie yet and if so what did they think of it? I was going to go tonight but not sure about because we all know the ending already.

.

I saw it (albeit a spanish dubbed version) and enjoyed it. It wasnt perfect but its an interesting story and so long as they were basically faithful to the events they couldnt really go wrong.. Cruise did a decent job as Von Stauffenberg and teh other actors were very good I thought.

Thanks Respvblica, its a go for tonight then.

shutuplaura wrote:

snapple drinker wrote:

Mallick (The Thin Red Line) best, war-movie, ever

Its absolutely amazing - I'd recommend Jim Jones two books which the film is based on, From Here to Eternity and The Thin Red Line. A bit macho and gung ho but From Here to Eternity is also incredably thoughtful (and technically not a war novel, takes place prior to Pearl Harbour. The Thin Red line deals more with the psycology of the unit and the unit is the principle charater, a living thinkg with many seperate componanets. Both drip with the nostalgia Jones felt for is youth before and during the war.

The Think Red Line has the plot of the book of the same name but quite a lot of the themes and character monologues and much of the general theme is lifted from From Here to Eternity. The 1950's film version of that book, while actually alright, doesn't touch on most of the more subtle aspects of it.

Not my favourite books or film but very close. Would have liked Mallicks New World had it not been too similar. One three hour film largely composed of length monologues on the frailties of life and the beauty of nature in spite of the uglyness of man is enough.

Jones . Thanks for reminding me-I told myself I would read the novel but forgot. Up until Red Line I believed that the medium couldn't adequately depict stream-of-conscious/internal monologue, but that film changed the benchmark, for me anyway. New World was a bit over-egged in that department.
Mallick is a director that A-list actors seem to be queuing up to work with, I'm definitely going to see Tree of Life when it's released.
I LOL'd when someone mentioned Return of the Jedi in the Ambassador Cinema. I saw Star Wars, The Empire Strikes back and Jedi there with my dad.
Wow, am I really that old??
Where's that E45...

snapple drinker wrote:

My top 5 desert-island flicks

Jeunet (Amelie)

Lynch (Mulholland Drive)

Sheridan (In the Name of the Father),

Murakami (7 Samurai),

Mallick (The Thin Red Line) best, war-movie, ever

I hated Benjamin Button, it was a rip-off of The Time Traveller's Wife.

Saw Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis on Saturday in the BFI.
http://mayersononanimation.blogspot.com/2007/10/marjane-satrapi-at-new-york-film.html

Best film I've seen in the last two years.

Anyone else seen it? Iranian / French graphic animation political chick flick. Funny, moving and educational.