Topic: The RAWK Film Thread

[Art Vandelay]

Just watched The Help.  Really liked it....had the old lump in the throat several times whilst watching it.

[Beav]

Watching Girl with the dragon tattoo later, heard so many good things about it. Looking forward to seeing it.

[Red Ol]

Just watching  'A shot in the dark' on TCM
Seen it many many times before but it still makes me laugh out loud.

Peter Sellars is a fucking genius.

[Ycuzz]

Just watching  'A shot in the dark' on TCM
Seen it many many times before but it still makes me laugh out loud.

Peter Sellars is a fucking genius.

Brilliant stuff!

I was pondering tossing in a fair few quotes, but that'll open up a whole can of worms in this thread

[Red Ol]

Brilliant stuff!

I was pondering tossing in a fair few quotes, but that'll open up a whole can of worms in this thread

Dreyfus: Give me ten men like Clouseau and I could destroy the world. 

[libby_lfc]

Just watched The Help.  Really liked it....had the old lump in the throat several times whilst watching it.

I read the book and loved it, book is better but only because, as usually happens, you get a lot more detail in the book and can immerse yourself fully. But the movie was good as well. Watched it a few times now.

[RojoLeón]

Some criticism of the Help from a recent Pulitzer prize winning critic, Wesley Morris.

http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2011/08/10/race_class_and_hollywood_gloss_in_the_help/

Three summers ago, I went to visit a friend in West Texas. She took a group of us to a restaurant in a big, well-appointed country house. At some point during the meal, one of us saw something alarming. A ceramic statue of a squat black woman was propping open a door. It was the sort of figurine that sums up a particular strain of race in America. The owner was a tall white woman who looked 50 in a very young way. When I asked her about the statue, her face lit up. “Oh, mammy,’’ she said. “Isn’t she wonderful?’’

I don’t know what kind of racist craziness we expected her to express, but that wasn’t it. I was the lone black person in our group, which also included only one native Southerner, and as a confrontation brewed between this woman and the young people in her restaurant, I watched her defiance turn into something else. “Mammy is strong,’’ she kept saying. “Mammy raised me.’’ We saw a loaded insult. She saw an emblem of welcoming. We were mad. And our anger broke her heart.

This pretty much captures the cognitive dissonance of watching “The Help’’: One woman’s mammy is another’s man’s mother. What can you do? It’s possible both to like this movie - to let it crack you up, then make you cry - and to wonder why we need a broad, if sincere dramatic comedy about black maids in Jackson, Miss., in 1962 and ’63 and the high-strung white housewives they work for. The movie is too pious for farce and too eager to please to comment persuasively on the racial horrors of the Deep South at that time.

Ads mostly feature the white actors in various tizzies, using accents wide as a boulevard. It’s “Tin Magnolias.’’ Meanwhile, the heart of the film itself belongs to Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) and Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer), the two very different maids and best friends at the center of the story. Aibileen is stoic. Minny is defiant. But the movie, like the extremely popular Kathryn Stockett novel it’s based on, uses the civil rights movement to suggest that the help could use some help. And so a young white woman named Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone) finds herself writing a controversial book in the words of the maids who work in the homes of her girlfriends.

The movie wants us to know that both sets of women are in tough spots. When Skeeter’s friend and the film’s queen bee, Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard), insists that a separate bathroom for the maids enhances the value of one’s house, it also puts social pressure on women like Skeeter and Hilly’s former classmate, Elizabeth Leefolt (Ahna O’Reilly), who employs Aibileen, to build one. Meanwhile, the maids, who talk anonymously to Skeeter in Aibileen’s little shack, don’t want to lose their jobs for doing so.

Jackson is a small enough place that when Minny does something entertainingly awful to Hilly and loses her job working for Hilly’s dithering mother (Sissy Spacek), she has to sneak a job on Jackson’s outskirts, working for Celia (Jessica Chastain), a five-and-dime Marilyn Monroe who’s thrilled that skeptical Minny actually wants the job of maintaining her enormous house.

Skeeter’s exposé is meant to empower both the subjects and the author, but “The Help’’ joins everything from “To Kill a Mockingbird’’ to “The Blind Side’’ as another Hollywood movie that sees racial progress as the province of white do-gooderism. Skeeter enjoys all the self-discovery and all the credit. She cracks the mystery of her missing childhood maid (Cicely Tyson). She finds a career at a moment in which women rarely had them. And she changes the lives of a couple of dozen black women whose change is refracted primarily through her. Skeeter’s awakening is a seemingly risk-free reassurance, just as Hilly’s Hanna-Barbera villainy is a kind of delight. The meaner she gets the bigger and higher her hair goes.

The novel made a lot of people feel good. It was sneaky. Stockett wrote tolerably in Aibileen and Minny’s voices - in a way that keeps black vernacular inside dignified English, and avoids the literary dehumanization that Toni Morrison has written about. But as much as the book was about race and class, it was really about how feminism empowered Skeeter, and Stockett, to address other injustices.

Tate Taylor, a childhood friend of Stockett, adapted and directed the movie. He applies a thick coat of gloss to most scenes. It’s hard not to imagine what trouble the passive, largely absent husbands of these bigoted women are up to off-screen. The death of the civil rights activist Medgar Evers is reported on television, so white supremacy is in the air, but the movie would have us believe that the racism of the time was the stuff of bridge clubs. Indeed, the meanest male in the movie is the abusive, mostly unseen black husband who, in a poorly made sequence, comes after Minny.

Taylor opts for vibrancy. He encourages every actor’s performance to take up as much room in a scene as it can. Allison Janney plays Skeeter’s self-conscious, marriage-obsessed mother, and she comes as close to “Mama’s Family’’ as one can get without being Vicki Lawrence or Carol Burnett. Playing to the back of the house works better for Chastain, whose breathy dingbat is a universe away from the beatific mother she played in “The Tree of Life.’’ She and Spencer create great comedy out of the social science fiction of their relationship, and their scenes are the best in the movie. We’ve never seen this before: two stereotypes forging new human ground together. Minny shows Celia she can be a good wife, and Chastain’s surprise is like a joke whose punch line you’re happy to keep forgetting.

Davis goes the opposite direction. She’s a character actor lost in another role. This one is tough. She’s asked to be serious and thoughtful amid assorted offenses. But you can tell it’s the back story of Aibileen’s murdered, college-bound son she’s clinging to. It was an inspired idea to give her gold caps and show her once without her wig. Few women keep a movie tethered to earth just by folding their hands and staring at another actor. Her touch is soft, though. She could pin a corsage on you with a sword.

And yet here’s the question you ask as you watch a black actor in 2011 play a white lady’s maid, decades and decades after that was the only job a black woman in Hollywood could get. What went through the minds of Davis, Spencer, and Aunjanue Ellis, who plays Hilly’s maid, as they put on those uniforms and went to work? What went through the minds of the extras? A movie now about black maids in the 1960s can try to reconfigure all black maids in the movies. But it’s an uphill climb that only the playwright Lynn Nottage has even come close to managing.

“The Help’’ comes out on the losing end of the movies’ social history. The best film roles three black women will have all year require one of them to clean Ron Howard’s daughter’s house. It’s self-reinforcing movie imagery. White boys have always been Captain America. Black women, in one way or another, have always been someone’s maid. These are strong figures, as that restaurant owner might sincerely say, but couldn’t they be strong doing something else? That’s the hardest thing to reconcile about Skeeter’s book and “The Help’’ in general. On one hand, it’s juicy, heartwarming, well-meant entertainment. On the other, it’s an owner’s manual.

[something awful]

Just watched Blade again, fucking awesome. Best opening scene ever.

[redmangaskin]

Quantum Of Solace - Good film, thought the story was a bit fast, that may have been due to itv having ad breaks and cutting a few minutes out here and there. Action scenes were great in it and plus Gemma Arterton and Stana Katic were in it, even if it wasn't for long.

8/10

[Agger]

Just watched Moneyball and really enjoyed. Great film.

[Andy @ Allerton]

Saw "The Prestige" again last night. Excellent film.

Quite sad in many ways.

[Beav]

Girl with the dragon tattoo was fucking brilliant. Rooney Mara stole every scene, amazing performance.

Brilliant directing from Fincher too, just a boss film.

[Ryan M]

Girl with the dragon tattoo was fucking brilliant. Rooney Mara stole every scene, amazing performance.

Brilliant directing from Fincher too, just a boss film.

Watched that me self the other day, was quality!

[Rusty Oysterburger]

This looks like it could be a lot of fun, Wreck-It-Ralph

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/GHDQHVkYq4g" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/GHDQHVkYq4g</a>

[Drinks Sangria]

This looks like it could be a lot of fun, Wreck-It-Ralph

Looks fun, even if it is just for the character nods. Hard to take John C. Reilly serious after stepbrothers, although this isn't serious mode. Zangief and Bowser's appearances were cool. It's good that Capcom and Nintendo allowed the use of their characters for this.

[Carllfc]

Anyone seen Usual Suspects?

[Prelude no.5]

Anyone seen Usual Suspects?

Err. . . Of course! Any cinema lover anyway, possibly Spacey's best.

[rob1408]

Anyone seen Usual Suspects?

I'd be amazed if you could find five people that haven't.  Really good film, although not one that you can rewatch too often.

[7777]

Anyone seen Usual Suspects?

If you haven't, you're in for a treat. In my top 5

[AlphaDelta]

I know its been around for a long time, and considered one of the greats, but got to mention True Romance - one of Slaters best performances and Patricia Arquette is fit as fook in it!

[Jankulovski]

Prometheus review - http://www.rewindreviews.com/prometheus-review/

[Ultimate Bromance]

This looks like it could be a lot of fun, Wreck-It-Ralph

Childhood nostalgia overload. That could be boss.

[Agger]

Can anyone recommend a good, kind of new, comedy film?

[Drinks Sangria]

Can anyone recommend a good, kind of new, comedy film?

Can of worms this lad. Comedy taste varies wildly. I can get on with 'stupid' comedies in the main, a lot can't. For example, I think Will Ferrell's pretty funny, not many do. As such- Step Brothers, Anchorman, Old School, 21 Jump Street (Not bad, newest of those) might be the sort of film you are looking for. You've probably seen all of those though.

If you haven't, you're in for a treat. In my top 5

I've not seen it either actually. Spacey was boss in American Beauty so I think I'll watch this tonight. Get some revision done then settle down to watch this, pre-exam treat. Last exam tomorrow.

[djphal]

anyone seen The Hitlist??

[The G in Gerrard]

Saw Snow White and the Huntsman. Decent film at best.

[stevo7]

Just watched Kill List, knowing nothing about the plot.

Fucking hell. Quality film but dark as anything I've seen. Not one for watching with the family.

Just watched this - and it's fucked up.

But 'Love Film' need to sort out some of their summaries, started watching with the wife who doesnt mind a bit of gore.
But this was uncomfortable. Not a chill out film.

[Agger]

Just watched Project X, a fun and cool film.

[Trada]

Saw Snow White and the Huntsman. Decent film at best.

We had a double bill tonight Mirror, Mirror and  Snow White and the Huntsman.

Strange both based on the same story but they were like chalk and cheese.

Snow White and the Huntsman for me was the miles better film mind you they could have easily called it Snow White Warrior Queen.

[Ycuzz]

Saw Man on a Ledge yesterday.

Decent enough popcorn film.

[Andy @ Allerton]

Saw Man on a Ledge yesterday.

Decent enough popcorn film.

What was it about

[Ycuzz]

What was it about

[rob1408]

Just watched Project X, a fun and cool film.

Each to their own, I thought it was shockingly bad, took me two attempts to finish it.

I watched The Host last night, a south-korean monster movie.  An absolutely superb film, funny, moving and quite frightening all at the same time.

[Prelude no.5]

In Bruges last night.

What a fuckin' wonderful fuckin' little movie as Harry would say. Easily one of the best films I've seen recently. I have a thing for black comedies. The leads were exceptional and the chemistry that brewed as time wore on was something heartwarming. There was also a healthy dose of humour nestled in almost every scene, thanks mostly to the witty script. Ralph Fiennes, one of my favourite actors, little rants and fits of fury were a joy to behold and listen to too. The cinematography was exemplary and it highlighted the beauty of the city.

It's a great English movie.

[Andy @ Allerton]

In Bruges last night.

What a fuckin' wonderful fuckin' little movie as Harry would say. Easily one of the best films I've seen recently. I have a thing for black comedies. The leads were exceptional and the chemistry that brewed as time wore on was something heartwarming. There was also a healthy dose of humour nestled in almost every scene, thanks mostly to the witty script. Ralph Fiennes, one of my favourite actors, little rants and fits of fury were a joy to behold and listen to too. The cinematography was exemplary and it highlighted the beauty of the city.

It's a great English movie.

Thought it was quite poor myself. One of those films that got really hyped and then when you see it, it's fairly "Meh."

Couldn't really connect with any of the characters. Always struggle when every single character is a dick.

[djphal]

Though in bruges was a great film

[Prelude no.5]

Couldn't really connect with any of the characters. Always struggle when every single character is a dick.

There's a world of difference between a character being a dick and a character being a dick which makes you laugh and somehow you find a way emphatising with them. That's why it's a black comedy.

I acknowledge that connecting with them may be a little difficult, but that was down to the trippy, surreal feel to it.

Reminded me a lot of Hot Fuzz.

[Andy @ Allerton]

There's a world of difference between a character being a dick and a character being a dick which makes you laugh and somehow you find a way emphatising with them. That's why it's a black comedy.

I acknowledge that connecting with them may be a little difficult, but that was down to the trippy, surreal feel to it.

Reminded me a lot of Hot Fuzz.

I'll have to have a few bevvies if I watch it again.

I liked Hot Fuzz, but a lot of that was because I like Frost and Pegg. Plus it's always funny thinking of the Archers in a warzone (Although Emmerdale managed to do that in their idyllic Yorkshire setting once! )

[Beav]

Just watched Project X, a fun and cool film.

It's absurdly crude and distasteful, it's ridiculous and full of needless sex scenes.

I fucking loved it, switched my brain off, went for a laugh and got it in spades.

[rob1408]

In Bruges last night.

What a fuckin' wonderful fuckin' little movie as Harry would say. Easily one of the best films I've seen recently. I have a thing for black comedies. The leads were exceptional and the chemistry that brewed as time wore on was something heartwarming. There was also a healthy dose of humour nestled in almost every scene, thanks mostly to the witty script. Ralph Fiennes, one of my favourite actors, little rants and fits of fury were a joy to behold and listen to too. The cinematography was exemplary and it highlighted the beauty of the city.

It's a great English movie.

Fantastic film.  I recommend The Guard if you haven't seen it.