Recommend a movie

10 posts

Cornelio
The man who knew too much (1956)
Alfred Hitchcock

I realized for the first time the similarities between Hitchcock and Polanski. “Frantic” could have been directed by Hitchcock – the same goes for “The Ghost Writer”. This kind of cinema, while charmingly well done and all, ends up boring me. I don't care for intrigue and suspense. I want to see deep psychological studies, characters evolving, etc, and that's nowhere to be found in Hollywood movies. It's a waste to use wonderful actors for this commercial, empty product.
Dr. Heywood R. Floyd
O'Zebedee
Bob Dylan Roof

Last night I watched A Dangerous Method , Cronenberg's historical drama on the genesis of psychoanalysis. The narrative traces the early relationship between Jung, Freud, and the Jewish psychoanalyst Sabina Spielrein and the subsequent break between Jung and Freud.

While the acting is superb, the general demeanor of the two male protagonists is so wooden and flat that substantial portions of the film come off as two bookish robots speaking in monotone (think SALOFORUM DOT COM dialog spoken in hushed tones by Mortensen and Fassbender). In contrast, Keira Knightly's Spielrein is in a constant state of emotional efflorescence. The most emotionally charged (and impressive) scene occurs when Jung coaxes Spielrein to discover the origin of her dissociative behavior in a sexually traumatic event she experienced in childhood.

One of the biggest disappointments for me was that the narrative only touched upon Jung's bizzarre obsession with the paranormal as it pertained to his break with Freud. A couple of scenes deliver on this theme nonetheless, including one where Jung recounts a dream on the eave of his mental breakdown (and ww1) that presages the slaughter to come.

Some other highlights include Freud admonishing Spielrein to refrain from consorting with Jung and imagining herself to inhabit a Siegfried-like myth because Jews and Aryans are meant to be apart, and Freud proclaiming to Jung that they are "bringing the plague [of psychoanalysis]" to America.

I wanted to give it :thumbsup: :thumbsup: out of 5, but I decided on :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :agree: out of 5 because Knightly's performance in the early parts of the film was so powerful.

Broseph
The Vow

I was going through the pictures thread on SALO FORUM and some articles on ycombinator while the girlfriend was watching this beside me. From the parts I heard and the bits I saw, this movie is absolutely awful. Even for a chick flick.

0 thumbsup
Broseph
John Carter

I haven't seen this yet, but I will try to watch this. I saw the preview for this film and hate the aesthetic. It's based on some comic book series. (a very idiotic "art form", imo) It cost Disney something like $240 million to produce, and they got $30 million opening weekend. Everyone hates it. The preview insulted me, but left me with a sense of hope that hollywood will cave in on itself.
Clancy

I recently watched Fritz the Cat (Ralph Bakshi, 1972) on Netflix after wanting to see it for a while. It succeeds as a time-capsule of the 60s, and has some interesting set-pieces, but Bakshi is deficient in even the most basic techniques of film making (the movie doesn't even come close to being coherent.) :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: /5

Niccolo and Donkey
None of these images are showing up and therefore I have no idea which movies you're talking about.
Broseph

Sorry, imdb won't let me hotlink? :(

Niccolo and Donkey
Nope.