heywood on 17/2/2012 at 22:39
Quote Posted by Angel Dust
Take ShelterTapping into a very resonant sense of unease this films tells the story of a simple family man in rural America who is plagued by increasingly disturbing dreams and apocalyptic visions. Brooding, eerie and full of brilliant, naturalistic acting (Michael Shannon is the stand-out as the tormented lead character), this is the best thing I've seen all year.
Thanks. I had forgotten about that one. Will have to see it.
Scots Taffer on 22/2/2012 at 03:02
Quote Posted by Angel Dust
Take ShelterA SeparationOnce Upon a Time in AnatoliaAll of those are definitely on my list to see. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia will be hard to see, I reckon! Good stuff, love the list.
Harvester on 22/2/2012 at 12:33
Last week I saw Crazy, Stupid, Love and I think it's 2011's winner in the "movies to watch with your wife/gf that you'll both enjoy" category.
Briareos H on 11/6/2012 at 11:11
Quote Posted by Briareos H
I don't think there was a film worth watching in 2011.
I retract that. I watched Hanna yesterday, and it was a solid, interesting film. Although plagued by a messy and sometimes uninteresting script, the directing, the imaginary and dream-like tone and its contrast with the action scenes, the contemplative and stylized visuals and the soundtrack were definitely worth watching.
Cue dethtoll and Scots Taffer calling me pretentious for liking the quirkiness of Hanna over 2011 blockbuster drivel like Inception or Tintin or forgettable snacks like Midnight in Paris and X-Men.
Drive was good too.
Thirith on 11/6/2012 at 11:30
My own problem with Hanna was that it tried to be three different movies at the same time and ended up being neither of the three properly. One moment L'Enfant Sauvage, the next The Bourne Supremacy, and then some quirky, borderline-postmodern retelling of a fairytale. As a result it felt very film-schooly to me, as if the director had lots of ideas he found really cool but lacked the discipline to make it work as a coherent film. On the whole there were lots of moments in Hanna that I liked, but I didn't particularly like the film as a whole.
Once Upon A Time In Anatolia plays weirdly like a Tarkovsky film; it's hypnotic, atmospheric, strangely funny in places where you don't expect it, and if you're open-minded to this sort of slow film it'll get under your skin. I was less taken with A Separation, which was very well acted but the writing (plotting rather than dialogue) and especially the structure felt overly constructed.
faetal on 11/6/2012 at 11:36
I found Hanna stylistically enjoyable, but very clumsy in how it tied itself together. Drive was my film of 2011. Very evocative, enigmatic and above all else, cool in a Brando-esque, unabashedly contrived way.
Thirith on 11/6/2012 at 11:42
Refn's films (at least the ones I've seen) are interesting anyway: Bronson, while very theatrical, is definitely a good look at Tom Hardy's acting chops (and may be one of the reasons why he got cast as Bane), and the Pusher Trilogy (I've seen the first two parts so far) shows Refn's growth as a director. None are as accomplished as Drive IMO, though.
Briareos H on 11/6/2012 at 11:50
I agree that Hanna has trouble staying on course, in part due to the too loose script. Somehow I was able to forgive the parts that I didn't like.
Quote Posted by Thirith
Once Upon A Time In AnatoliaI need to watch this. Thanks for the reminder.
Muzman on 12/6/2012 at 06:31
The stupid part about Hanna was they could have wrapped things up fairly well, but it was like they just couldn't be bothered. It's not a complicated story. The stakes and so on a pretty straightforward. But when it comes to 'Does she care about her new family, now the evil do-ers have them?', they go "Eh, let's just forget they exist now altogether".
The other problem was one of the big climax-y fights involved us thinking Ze Germans were a credible opponent to dad, by at least being smart enough to do something the last team he massacred didn't. But nope.
Very very disappointing.
