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Did anyone view that last night?
I did, Surprisingly quite a good film, No wonder it won many oscars. I liked it at the end when you find out who the real killer actually was, when you was expecting it to be his wife.
I did, Surprisingly quite a good film, No wonder it won many oscars. I liked it at the end when you find out who the real killer actually was, when you was expecting it to be his wife.
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Mouldy Cheese wrote:
> His musings on 'beauty' are so utterly
> profound that they have found their way onto my bedroom wall.
Seriously? I thought that whole aspect of it was painfully pretentious (edging towards uncomfortably embarrassing, epically the quote you use at the end of the post) and that his character is verging on a cliché - same with Angela. Same problem with his Dad kissing Lester - it plays to a cliché, the harsh, regimental army guy with strict rules is actually bi-curious. Shock! Horror! Then Lester - the hip young kid ends up having a mid-life crisis rebelling against the system that beat him down. Pretty much every character is cookie cuttered to a large extent.
I love the film, but it isn't without even further flaws (AFAIC, IMO etc). The whole Lester/wife relationship isn't exactly satisfactory either. They gloss over why they got together in the first place and by never really explaining how/why wife has changed into such a cow (come on, its beyond maturing) its hard to buy that he'd marry her in the first place. Then the spying through the window drug deal/rent boy confusion is straight out of a poor 60s Carry On film, feels very out of place when compared with some of the sophisticated laughs found elsewhere in the film.
Well that’s not exhaustive (don’t even want to start on the use of red and its supposed symbolism – basically getting ideas above their station/capabilities again), even though, I do really like the film.
> His musings on 'beauty' are so utterly
> profound that they have found their way onto my bedroom wall.
Seriously? I thought that whole aspect of it was painfully pretentious (edging towards uncomfortably embarrassing, epically the quote you use at the end of the post) and that his character is verging on a cliché - same with Angela. Same problem with his Dad kissing Lester - it plays to a cliché, the harsh, regimental army guy with strict rules is actually bi-curious. Shock! Horror! Then Lester - the hip young kid ends up having a mid-life crisis rebelling against the system that beat him down. Pretty much every character is cookie cuttered to a large extent.
I love the film, but it isn't without even further flaws (AFAIC, IMO etc). The whole Lester/wife relationship isn't exactly satisfactory either. They gloss over why they got together in the first place and by never really explaining how/why wife has changed into such a cow (come on, its beyond maturing) its hard to buy that he'd marry her in the first place. Then the spying through the window drug deal/rent boy confusion is straight out of a poor 60s Carry On film, feels very out of place when compared with some of the sophisticated laughs found elsewhere in the film.
Well that’s not exhaustive (don’t even want to start on the use of red and its supposed symbolism – basically getting ideas above their station/capabilities again), even though, I do really like the film.
wam_man wrote:
> Mouldy Cheese wrote:
>
> The other half of what makes the film so good is the family next
> door
> to Lester. The father is ex-military, and keeps Nazi memorabilia.
> The
> wife, whom we only see once in the movie, is downtrodden - in her
> one
> shot you can see the effects of the father upon her. My favourite
> character, perhaps of all time, is the son. He deals drugs and
> records
> everything with a video camera. His musings on 'beauty' are so
> utterly
> profound that they have found their way onto my bedroom wall.
>
> >so you have pistures of dead birds on your bedroom wall?
Or perhaps a plastic bag :P
> Mouldy Cheese wrote:
>
> The other half of what makes the film so good is the family next
> door
> to Lester. The father is ex-military, and keeps Nazi memorabilia.
> The
> wife, whom we only see once in the movie, is downtrodden - in her
> one
> shot you can see the effects of the father upon her. My favourite
> character, perhaps of all time, is the son. He deals drugs and
> records
> everything with a video camera. His musings on 'beauty' are so
> utterly
> profound that they have found their way onto my bedroom wall.
>
> >so you have pistures of dead birds on your bedroom wall?
Or perhaps a plastic bag :P
Auf wrote:
> It was the first time I saw it, it was great. I'm hoping to get it on
> DVD now, seeing as it's half price :D
Too bloody right! :P
> It was the first time I saw it, it was great. I'm hoping to get it on
> DVD now, seeing as it's half price :D
Too bloody right! :P
Mouldy Cheese wrote:
> >
> The other half of what makes the film so good is the family next door
> to Lester. The father is ex-military, and keeps Nazi memorabilia. The
> wife, whom we only see once in the movie, is downtrodden - in her one
> shot you can see the effects of the father upon her. My favourite
> character, perhaps of all time, is the son. He deals drugs and records
> everything with a video camera. His musings on 'beauty' are so utterly
> profound that they have found their way onto my bedroom wall.
>
>so you have pistures of dead birds on your bedroom wall?
> >
> The other half of what makes the film so good is the family next door
> to Lester. The father is ex-military, and keeps Nazi memorabilia. The
> wife, whom we only see once in the movie, is downtrodden - in her one
> shot you can see the effects of the father upon her. My favourite
> character, perhaps of all time, is the son. He deals drugs and records
> everything with a video camera. His musings on 'beauty' are so utterly
> profound that they have found their way onto my bedroom wall.
>
>so you have pistures of dead birds on your bedroom wall?
"Here I am, j***ing off in the shower. This will be the high point of my day."
Awesome.
Completely and utterly awesome.
I have never - and I don't say this lightly - seen a better film. It's the kind of film that puts a big stupid smile on your face for at least a week after you've seen it, and every time you think about it for the rest of your life.
I don't know where to begin. Firstly, the film is one of those that cannot be categorized into a single genre. It has some fantastic arty cinematography, yet it certainly isn't arthouse. It's funny, but it doesn't go out of its way for laughs.
The film is structured in such a way as to incorporate a good few subplots - indeed, by the end you've pretty much forgotten the main one. Kevin Spacey plays Lester - a man who goes through what could be called a 'mid-life crisis', bought on by his fancying of his daughters friend. He quits his job, starts smoking pot, and rediscovers himself. That's your basic plot, but there is oh so much more in this film.
Each and every character is both written and acted to perfection. You are told exactly the right about them and their lifestyle - never quite saturating your interest, but never leaving you unsatisfied either. It's a perfect balance, and in my opinion it half of what makes the film so good.
The other half of what makes the film so good is the family next door to Lester. The father is ex-military, and keeps Nazi memorabilia. The wife, whom we only see once in the movie, is downtrodden - in her one shot you can see the effects of the father upon her. My favourite character, perhaps of all time, is the son. He deals drugs and records everything with a video camera. His musings on 'beauty' are so utterly profound that they have found their way onto my bedroom wall.
The script is fantastic. It's as though the writer has a natural, unforced sense of humour - as he wrote the script to move the plot along, there were quips that he couldn't leave out. Like I said, some of the things that the characters say are worthy of the bible, or a book by Kahil Gismar. These have to be credited to the script…again, I am tempted to say that the script makes the film but I've already attributed that to two other things :D
You should make every effort to see this film. It's about what lies behind the white-picket fences of contemporary middle-class America. It's about the effect people have on other people - every character in the movie changes due to how the other characters act. It's about setting yourself free, not settling for what you've got. It's about the misplaced youth of America. But, mostly, it's about freedom.
'But it helps me remember... and I need to remember... Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in'
Completely and utterly awesome.
I have never - and I don't say this lightly - seen a better film. It's the kind of film that puts a big stupid smile on your face for at least a week after you've seen it, and every time you think about it for the rest of your life.
I don't know where to begin. Firstly, the film is one of those that cannot be categorized into a single genre. It has some fantastic arty cinematography, yet it certainly isn't arthouse. It's funny, but it doesn't go out of its way for laughs.
The film is structured in such a way as to incorporate a good few subplots - indeed, by the end you've pretty much forgotten the main one. Kevin Spacey plays Lester - a man who goes through what could be called a 'mid-life crisis', bought on by his fancying of his daughters friend. He quits his job, starts smoking pot, and rediscovers himself. That's your basic plot, but there is oh so much more in this film.
Each and every character is both written and acted to perfection. You are told exactly the right about them and their lifestyle - never quite saturating your interest, but never leaving you unsatisfied either. It's a perfect balance, and in my opinion it half of what makes the film so good.
The other half of what makes the film so good is the family next door to Lester. The father is ex-military, and keeps Nazi memorabilia. The wife, whom we only see once in the movie, is downtrodden - in her one shot you can see the effects of the father upon her. My favourite character, perhaps of all time, is the son. He deals drugs and records everything with a video camera. His musings on 'beauty' are so utterly profound that they have found their way onto my bedroom wall.
The script is fantastic. It's as though the writer has a natural, unforced sense of humour - as he wrote the script to move the plot along, there were quips that he couldn't leave out. Like I said, some of the things that the characters say are worthy of the bible, or a book by Kahil Gismar. These have to be credited to the script…again, I am tempted to say that the script makes the film but I've already attributed that to two other things :D
You should make every effort to see this film. It's about what lies behind the white-picket fences of contemporary middle-class America. It's about the effect people have on other people - every character in the movie changes due to how the other characters act. It's about setting yourself free, not settling for what you've got. It's about the misplaced youth of America. But, mostly, it's about freedom.
'But it helps me remember... and I need to remember... Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in'
Axl Dickinson wrote:
I absoluetly love the way this point is made:
MAJOR ARGUMENT:
> Nah you see his wife walking up the drive way and there is a shot from
> inside the kitchen.
Ok, fair enough... but there is also something else slightly less compelling that's also worth mentioning:
> Plus the colonel dude is covered in blood and I
> don't think that came from a bloody nose.
I absoluetly love the way this point is made:
MAJOR ARGUMENT:
> Nah you see his wife walking up the drive way and there is a shot from
> inside the kitchen.
Ok, fair enough... but there is also something else slightly less compelling that's also worth mentioning:
> Plus the colonel dude is covered in blood and I
> don't think that came from a bloody nose.
I've seen it a few times now. I've always thought it was good, but something annoyed me about it a bit this time, not sure what.
It was the first time I saw it, it was great. I'm hoping to get it on DVD now, seeing as it's half price :D
Belldandy wrote:
> I always thought it wasn't clear cut who killed him - you only see
> potential killers and not killing itself - both his wife and neighbour
> have gun anyway - and the actual film script does not say who has
> killed Lester.
Nah you see his wife walking up the drive way and there is a shot from inside the kitchen. Plus the colonel dude is covered in blood and I don't think that came from a bloody nose.
> I always thought it wasn't clear cut who killed him - you only see
> potential killers and not killing itself - both his wife and neighbour
> have gun anyway - and the actual film script does not say who has
> killed Lester.
Nah you see his wife walking up the drive way and there is a shot from inside the kitchen. Plus the colonel dude is covered in blood and I don't think that came from a bloody nose.
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