NatrlBornThrllr

I bought the following DVDs a few days ago. I'd gone months with only one or two purchases. Got the finances under control, as well as a few gift certificates for my birthday. Those only landed me one or two titles, but they lit that DVD-buying fire that'd burnt out. Most of what I bought were films that'd caught my eye but I never got around to seeing (read: blind buys).

Now, I want to watch a movie, but I can't decide. So, first post to name a title from this list of DVDs picks what I'm watching..

Capote
Constant Gardener, The
Crumb
Delicatessen
Elizabethtown
Glengarry Glen Ross (5.0/10)
Grizzly Man
Jarhead
Match Point (9.0/10)
Puddle Cruiser (7.0/10)
Running Scared (7.5/10)
Say Anything... (10/10)
Stay
Walk the Line (9.0/10)
Weather Man, The (7.0/10)

Edit: I'm going to keep this thread going. Everytime I'm in the mood for a movie, I'll bump this thread and the first person to respond after my bump chooses what I watch. I'll assign grades to, and cross off the titles as I go along. What fun.

-JP

flixtime

Running Scared

NatrlBornThrllr

Heh, it was one of the two films that I was iffy on when making my purchases (the other being Elizabethtown). The others I knew were at least geared toward my tastes. Running Scared snuck up on me...but after reading a handful of great reviews, as well as that balls out "Kill Bill" comparison they plastered on the cover, I had to give it a shot.

So, now I've finished the internet for the day, and I'm off to watch Running Scared. I'll post my thoughts after the movie, and before bed. Thanks for the reply.

-JP

tommyp007

Enjoy Glengary Glen Ross. Excellent film.

NatrlBornThrllr

I watched Running Scared. I'm going to let it simmer for a day or so before posting any thoughts.

-JP

bareva

I second that...great movie.

Filmmaker

I'm with tommyp007; it's ESSENTIAL that you watch GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS. Just in case you die right after, you'll have at least died better off than before you watched it.

Smithers

I negate that...horrible movie.

X

I would have died happier had I not watched Glengarry Glen Ross. One of the few real disappointments I've had from a highly recommended blind buy.

I haven't seen all your choices but I recommend Match Point which I thought was extremely well made, or Delicatessen if you're in the mood for something very different.

NatrlBornThrllr

...this is what my mind is saying, still.

Thanks to everybody for posting. I have work now, and maybe plans after. If not, I'll be watching another movie (I'd planned on making a post right before I watched a movie, and the first response chose what I watched...but I may have to abandon that idea to watch Glengarry Glen Ross, if only to settle my now piqued curiosity and to form my own opinion).

-JP

Crowbar

Great list of movies you got there, but I would seriously think about dumping 3 of the dvds you got.(Running Scared,Jarhead,Stay)

Dan1boy

I third that sentiment...loved it loved it loved it

Filmmaker

Yeesh, and you're in a position of authority here...yikes... Honestly, though, I've NEVER encountered someone who didn't immediately fall in love with this film...

X

Luckily I'm not a reviewer. Although looking back at a DVD Talk review of it, I was reminded of what I didn't like about it.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=4999&___rd=1

It was merely a piece showcasing the talents of particular actors. I don't really like Jack Lemmon so that didn't help; he was just being the typical over-emotive Jack Lemmon. Training someone to give a speech in the way you would expect, such as Alec Baldwin did, doesn't impress me much.

I find it interesting that Holly's review mentioned The Spanish Prisoner which I did like because it actually had a plot that required some thinking.

Dr. Calamari

You can't go wrong with Crumb, especially if you're a fan of his work...also, seeing the kind of background he came from can be a harrowing experience. He seems to be the only one of his brothers who doesn't suffer from mental illness, and his Mom is genuinely bizarre, too. It's a wonder he didn't become a serial killer or something!

NatrlBornThrllr

Alright, no request here...I'll be giving Glengarry Glen Ross a shot immediately after posting this. However, I before that, a paragraph or four of thoughts about Running Scared now that it's had time to settle...

Running Scared
I liked it. I didn't love it, and having seen none of the other films on the above list, I can already assume that it's not the first that I'd recommend. The acting surprised me, and was the main reason that I watched it in the first place (I'd read a comment along the lines of, "who knew Paul Walker could act?"). I was skeptical, but he turned in his best performance to date, no contest. I was actually impressed...even if he did falter from time to time. All I know is that I'll probably stop immediately dismissing all of his films as a lame Paul Walker vehicle.

As for the film itself...like I said earlier, it left me torn. It was just so over the top. Roeper's negative review said something to the effect of, "they threw in everything but the kitchen sink." In Ebert's glowing, three-star review, he says:

This worked for and against the movie, in my opinion. In hindsight, it was a wonderful modern day fairy tale, Brothers Grimm style. The twisting plots, the fictional city filled with every kind of scum you can imagine, and the protagonists encountering and triumphing over these "bad guys" gave the film a feel that at first left me thinking, "suspension of disbelief is one thing, but come the fuck on," but eventually settled into my memory banks aside stories like Little Red Riding Hood and various comic book tales.

Where this "everything but the kitchen sink" approach harms the film is in it's direction and cinematography. Trust me, I love gimmicks as much as the next guy. In fact, shortly after I joined the site I started a thread asking for movies that used a lot of visual gimmicks, and even referenced a shot in Wayne Kramer's "The Cooler." However, I left this film with the distinct (and, it turns out, incorrect) impression that this was a director's first film, and was merely a vehicle through which he could haphazardly include countless scenes, shots, and visual tricks that didn't really fit...anywhere. A test drive of sorts. Tony Scott, and not 80s and 90s Tony Scott; epileptic seizure Tony Scott. Kramer has a hell of a lot of potential, and if he reigns himself in a bit, he could build a hell of a film resume over the next decade or two. I was impressed with his visuals, very impressed...but at times it became a bit much.

All that aside, there's no denying that the movie was a hell of a ride from start to end. I left the sofa feeling like I'd just had a two hour brain hemorrhage. The good kind.

-JP

flixtime

To those who really enjoyed "Running Scared", and don't mind watching foreign films, maybe consider giving a look to Secuestro Express.

mifuneral

Watch Eye of the Beholder. It's excellent

Ambassador

Here's another person who didn't immediately -- or ever -- fall in love with Glengarry Glen Ross. IMO, it's an interesting movie worth watching once, but nothing about it is as good as most people would have you believe, including the rather strident, one-note performances.

Filmmaker

, but whatever...

gryffinmaster

Watch Stay when you're in the mood for something in the same vicinity of a Lynch film. Very good, but only when your brains in the mood to move gears.

Mr. Cinema

Match Point, Capote, and The Weather Man are my favorites from that list.

I think I've watched Match Point about 5 times already. It's good to see a Woody Allen thriller.

gryffinmaster

Heartily agreed with Match Point and The Weather Man. Both are terrific films. I also recommend Jarhead when you're in the mood for a war movie about the psyhoses of seemingly abandoned soldiers in the desert.

Squirrel God

I'll rank the ones I've seen, in order of enjoyment (my score):

Running Scared (9/10)
Glengarry Glen Ross (9/10)
Weather Man, The (8/10)
Elizabethtown (7/10)
Stay (7/10)
Capote (7/10)
Jarhead (6/10)
Say Anything (5/10)
Delicatessen (4/10)




I haven't seen these yet:

Constant Gardener, The
Crumb
Grizzly Man
Match Point
Puddle Cruiser
Walk the Line

NatrlBornThrllr

It's odd, gathering and articulating my thoughts about these two distinctly different films in one post. After all, one of the two features some of the greatest actors of all time (and earned Pacino both Oscar and Golden Globe nominations). The other is a low-budget, low-brow indie comedy. I fear that my discontent with the acclaimed film, in relatively sharp contrast to my praises for the "dumbed down" flick, will be misunderstood. So before you read on, just note that I'm grading on a curve, so to speak. Now then...

Glengarry Glen Ross
...was rather, mmm, anticlimactic. I agree with X's notion that the entire film seemed like nothing more than "a piece showcasing the talents of particular actors." The film seemed to run from monologue to monologue, letting one actor after another have his moment. The plot had as much substance as...well, something without very much substance. The entire narrative would've worked much better as a short film, IMO. There simply wasn't enough meat for a feature length film. There was little to no exposition, and a vast majority of the dialogue did absolutely nothing to further the plot...it was merely an opportunity for one amazing actor or another to strut his stuff. I greatly appreciated the performances...but I'd like some steak with my seasoning, please. Count me as one of the disappointed. This isn't to say that I loathed the film, but I certainly didn't fancy it near what it's made out to be.

Puddle Cruiser
This was tonight's movie, merely because I wanted to go to a friend's house to drink and watch a film, and this one seemed the best choice. It was. The Broken Lizard guys had my utmost faith after Super Troopers, but they faltered a bit with Club Dread. It's not that I thought Club Dread was...dreadful, it just didn't hit me like Troopers (to this day, one of my all-time favorite comedies). Then, post Club Dread, came the Dukes of Hazzard film which was good for a couple of laughs, a handful of chuckles, and a whole lot of eye rolls.

I'd awaited the DVD release of Puddle Cruiser for quite sometime, but even still...I was wary. I feared that the film would cast the Broken Lizard guys in the "one-hit wonders" category, the last place I wanted the people responsible for one of my favorite comedies to end up. Needless to say I went in with practically no expectations, and as such, I wasn't at all disappointed with what I got. Chuckles here, hearty laughs there. Not as consistent as Super Troopers, and an obvious first outing for the Broken Lizard guys...but I was entertained, and that's all that really matters. Puddle Cruiser makes me want to revisit Club Dread (the first post-Super Troopers Broken Lizard film that I watched), in the hopes that my relative dislike of that film was merely a case of my expecting too much out of it. It also has me eagerly awaiting Beerfest.

So, that's that. Sorry to disappoint those of you who championed Glengarry. I know that, personally, I can never quite understand when or why somebody fails to see the same movie I did (especially when they turn right around to adorn a movie like Puddle Cruiser with praises)...but it just didn't do it for me.

-JP