Flipside Movie Emporium

[beltmann]

[Danny Baldwin]

Well Eric, here's my issue with All the Real Girls. I think it's got a great concept, and a good execution. It's essentially, just like being in the company of real people, which is wondrous. But, normal peoples lives aren't always that interesting. I can complement it, for what it attempts--but I don't think its entirely succesful. While it may be a beautiful achievement, I can't say I enjoyed myself while watching it, or got tons out of it--which is the reason why I like movies, in the first place. I felt the same way about the 2002 remake of Solaris.

I think that a movie similar to it, even though it's completely different in style, that's much more successful is The Good Girl. I can see why someone would love All the Real Girls, but I could just never get into it. Perhaps I just couldn't identify with the characters enough, even though I cannot deny they are the closest to real people I've seen in a movie, in a very long time.
_________________
Danny Baldwin

View My Reviews

[Mark Dujsik]

Oh boy! Can I play?

Bully (repeat)

Dances with Wolves

Deliverance

Freddy Vs. Jason

Open Range

The Poseidon Adventure

Uptown Girls

I may have seen more, but those are all I can remember since I don't always keep track.

This was the first time I've seen Dances with Wolves, and damn, is that a great film. I saw Deliverance and The Poseidon Adventure a long time ago, and only Poseidon held up as well as I remember. Deliverance, I realized this time around, is all setup with no real payoff. Still worth a look for its suspense sequences, though.

And while it's more the start of this week, I just saw the documentary Spellbound earlier today, and it's the best film I've seen so far this year. I hope to have a review up tomorrow or definitely the day after.

And you'd better believe I'll be watching The Two Towers tomorrow and a back-to-back insane-fan viewing of Fellowship and it later in the week.
_________________
"Film lovers are sick people."

--Francois Truffaut

10 Best Films of 2006

Mark Reviews Movies

[Danny Baldwin]

[juhsstin]

I just rented the 4 disc extended FOTR DVD set. The extended version is really good!
_________________
Who let the dogs out?

[matt header]

Three movies in the last week. That's it. "Le Divorce," then "Irreversible," then "I Stand Alone." I thought it went from bad to okay to excellent. Really, though, I'm disappointed that I didn't make time for more than three movies! And I call myself a film buff.....

[beltmann]

[Michael Scrutchin]

I just received All the Real Girls from Netflix and I'm off to watch it right now.
_________________
Michael Scrutchin
Flipside Movie Emporium
www.flipsidearchive.com

[Danny Baldwin]

[Michael Scrutchin]

Watched All the Real Girls last night. It's been a long time since I've fallen deeply in love with a film, but this one's the real deal. Words fail me. It's just... um... wow. Like I said, words fail me.
_________________
Michael Scrutchin
Flipside Movie Emporium
www.flipsidearchive.com

[Danny Baldwin]

Well, I'm clearly not seeing the magic in it that you guys are. I think Rob Blackwelder of Splicedonline.com really hit the nail on the head.
_________________
Danny Baldwin

View My Reviews

[the night watchman]

[beltmann]

Obviously, my claim that cinema?s noblest function is to approximate reality is completely subjective. I would never argue that ?straight? realism better represents life than those that ?incorporate the fantastic,? but in my personal hierarchy of why cinema matters as an art form, I rank realism at the top, for several reasons.

First, one of my main interests in art lies in its potential to edify, especially in social terms (that?s the Horace, Plato, Ruskin and Marx in me). A second main interest, especially for cinema, lies in its ability to convincingly replicate the human experience ? by portraying life as it is, we can approximate and honor the divine power; the force of art is found in its ability to capture and express humanity, offering insights into what it means to be human (that?s the Bazin and Mill in me). I know this is entirely subjective, but I feel that those traits rank as the most important purposes of art, and can best be accomplished through realism. This helps explain why I am drawn to the documentary form, and also why many of my favorite recent narrative films are ?realistic?: The Circle, Bloody Sunday, Rabbit-Proof Fence, You Can Count on Me, The Ice Storm, Tully, Faithless, The Road Home, Amores Perros, Bread and Roses, The Apostle, Xiu Xiu the Sent-down Girl, The Children of Heaven, The Color of Paradise, The King of Masks, Atanarjuat, The Cat?s Meow, Secret Ballot, Ulee?s Gold?

However, to me ?realism? comes in many forms; I would expand its definition beyond ?straight accuracy? to include emotional and psychological insights that reflect actual human experience in all its complexity, which can be arrived at through multiple avenues. This helps explain why many of my recent favorites are realistic only marginally: Ghost World, The Truman Show, Rushmore, Ponette, Kandahar, Far From Heaven, Requiem for a Dream, The Sweet Hereafter, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, American Beauty, Three Kings, The Virgin Suicides, A Simple Plan?

Personally, merely ?looking? at the world and replicating it is often enough, although I much prefer films that do more, and prefer filmmakers that offer ?interpretations? of what they see in order to shift our conceptions about the world.

I think it?s important to develop a personal belief inventory, as a means of better understanding your own responses to art (isn?t that the ultimate goal of criticism?), and after many years I?ve come to the conclusion that what matters most to me is realism. However, this is not to demean other functions of art. Of course I believe that other purposes are nearly as significant, and certainly equally valid. (For example, I would never argue that films that ?incorporate the fantastic? are incapable of representing life and offering insights into the human experience.) Next to realism, I am also deeply interested in the impressionistic, surreal, and abstract possibilities of cinema, and that helps explain why some of my recent favorites include Punch-Drunk Love, The Lady and the Duke, Hero, Being John Malkovich, Dark City, The Vertical Ray of the Sun, Waking Life, Mulholland Dr., Spirited Away?

Incidentally, I agree about the ending of Ghost World. I wouldn?t change a thing.

Eric

[Danny Baldwin]

I just watched Raising Victor Vargas last night, and for me, that is the movie with all of the traits that you guys have been praising All the Real Girls for. I do think it's more intriguing movie-wise as well, perhaps because I spent a little less time warming up to the characters. I could relate to them, to a small extend, whereas in All the Real Girls I had to really warm up to them. I will have to watch more movies of this nature to come to a conclusion, but I think that I am able to respect this type of picture much more, when i like and am interested by the setting and place
_________________
Danny Baldwin

View My Reviews

[the night watchman]