Agreed. It's far from empty. It's brimming with thematic content. Like you said though the central character is so soulless that it's never going to nor is it meant to be, an easy watch.
Neither do I.
Film The Redcafe Movie review thread
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Agreed. It's far from empty. It's brimming with thematic content. Like you said though the central character is so soulless that it's never going to nor is it meant to be, an easy watch.
Neither do I.
It was hammy at times. Especially all of those church scenes. Although I think the whole point was that people blindly follow religion even if it is ridiculous.
The first ten minutes of the film were great though. Absolutely summed up Daniel Plainview's character with no words. I also agree with @ThierryHenry about it being a character study rather then a thematic one. Probably why people feel it is empty as its really not telling anything other then the main characters story.
That brings back memories. G Gordon was a childhood hero of mine.
During the Vietnam War the US Government was in the habit of saying the conflict was: "A battle for the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people"
Gordon's take on this: " If you've got them by the balls their hearts and minds will follow!"
Gotta love him.
I probably could have believed that if I hadn't seen PTA's other films.
I think it's very wrong to suggest there's no "heart and soul" in Magnolia, The Master, or especially, Punch Drunk Love.
I also watched Pulp Fiction recently too. That is an empty movie if ever I saw one. Although there is something about it, with the snappy dialogue, the well crafted characters and relationships and the contrasting tone of it that makes the whole thing so interesting to watch. I will say that I had no interest in the Bitch story and much prefered Vince Vega's stories though. I don't think it is better then Reservoir Dogs either. Not worse just not better.
Apparently makes a killing on the speech circuit. The massive weirdo.That brings back memories. G Gordon was a childhood hero of mine.
During the Vietnam War the US Government was in the habit of saying the conflict was: "A battle for the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people"
Gordon's take on this: " If you've got them by the balls their hearts and minds will follow!"
Gotta love him.
The Master sucked. Such a let down.
Booooooo
Also, I think you're missing the point if you complain that a film called 'Pulp Fiction' isn't about anything beyond its own stories.
I'm not saying its not entertaining, just saying its very superficial. Although, I thing that was the point that Tarantino was trying to make about life, how its all quite superficial.
He's a director without a vision, he makes it rain frogs when he doesn't know what to do.
For some reason I fail to get as excited about Tarantino as other people do. I find his movies to be quite random and like someone said, a bit empty. It's just not my cup of tea. Watched Inglorious Bastards a while ago and I thought it was utter shit. Some dialogues were good but just way too long for me to hold my attention.
I haven't seen TWBB, but I think we can all agree The Departed and Gangs of New York are shite.
Cameron Diaz's performance in the latter will one day be seen as some sort of Andy Kaufmann-esque bit.
GONN is a bit of a mess as a whole, but Day Lewis' performance was pretty great.
Gangs suffered from being overly ambitious and turned out to be a mess as Cheesy said, and it's a big 'miss'. Departed isn't shit, but I think we know how you feel about that one. 
The Lineup - A cracking noir that opens with a bang and keeps hurtling along. Great characters but an absurd plot. Not to worry though, it's shot beautifully and the violence keeps building to the shocking (for 1956) climax. Eli Wallach sowing the seeds of Tuco. 8/10.
Gangs suffered from being overly ambitious and turned out to be a mess as Cheesy said, and it's a big 'miss'. Departed isn't shit, but I think we know how you feel about that one.
In a vacuum it'd be decent, admittedly, but the context of it's creation and subsequent undeserved acclaim make it a uniquely shitty shit fest in relative terms. At least GONN was a noble failure in adapting a sprawling non-fiction book. The Departed was a sprawling failure in adapting a noble fiction film.
The rat symbolises obviousness.
The hugely hammy overacting made it borderline unwatchable for me.
Kermode just call Trainspotting the 'Clockwork Orange of (the nineties) generation'.
What's the Clockwork Orange of the noughties' generation?
What's the Clockwork Orange of the noughties' generation?
Is Clockwork Orange any good? I love some psychological stuff but I'm afraid I'm going to hate it.
I like it, but as with any film that's controversial reputation stems from the early 70s, it's incredibly tame by modern standards, meaning it loses some of it's original intended impact. It's also so iconic and influential that it's hard to watch objectively without seeing it's greatest scenes through the prism of their many, many parodies.
The Shining suffers from the same problem. As do a lot of films tbf, but it's most damaging to ones that rely on their intense super seriousness.
The Shining suffers from the same problem. As do a lot of films tbf, but it's most damaging to ones that rely on their intense super seriousness.
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That's why I fear I will hate it, just like I hated Brazil and some other older films. Maybe even 2001 to an extend, altough it was much better than the former.
Might give this a watch some day.
Liked A Clockwork Orange as a film/book. Disliked American Psycho as a film/book
I remember reading Trainspotting before watching the film. It's a lot more darker than the film.
Still to read the book, although I'd probably have the film in my top 5.
The Clockwork Orange comparison is interesting. Guess it can be applied to the idea of an anti-hero type anti-establishment character (although Alex is much darker than Renton), with plenty of trippy, psychedelic sort of shit thrown in.
Is the Trainspotting sequel actually going to happen? Gonna be mad to see Boyle and Ewan doing so so far away from where they are now, or well how they manage the mess it up. Not like Hodge has wrote anything decent since either....
It'd be masterstroke in comebacks if they pulled it off.
It'd be masterstroke in comebacks if they pulled it off.
Dangerous Minds - Got nostalgic about a film I saw as a kid, only remembered the dinner scene. Turns out it was this. Enjoyed it despite its flaws. 5.5/10
Edit: Pfeiffer >>>
Edit: Pfeiffer >>>
If they do it and run with the sequel to the book its going to be hard to make, the book is called "Porno", our hero Sickboy taps into an opportunity to become an adult film director and obviously there is tonnes of sex in it !
Porno is brilliant source material to be fair, but it's obviously gonna be difficult to live up to expectations with this one
The source material is the key point, really. It'll probably struggle to live up to Trainspotting, but if there's good source material there to go on then there's definitely a possibility that they'll be able to get a good movie out of it, considering the director and cast. Without decent source material, you'd pretty much be fecked either way, unless Boyle was to stray away from what he's adapting. Quite hopeful for it, though.
If you enjoy Trainspotting you should go see the theatre show. Immersive theatre at its best.
Re: Porno. I think they are making it judging by quotes from Robert Carlisle. Though I haven't heard much in a while. Getting McGregor on board was always the sticking point. Apparently he fell out with Danny Boyle after Boyle snubbed him for Di Caprio in The Beach.
Re: Porno. I think they are making it judging by quotes from Robert Carlisle. Though I haven't heard much in a while. Getting McGregor on board was always the sticking point. Apparently he fell out with Danny Boyle after Boyle snubbed him for Di Caprio in The Beach.
The Devils - For some reason I was in the mood for religious hysteria and various blasphemies and debaucheries, it was quite alright.
He should be thanking his stars.
A Serious Man - A lesser Coen film, but worth a watch due to the idiosyncratic characters.
I hated this film. Although I was too young to understand it at the time and expected a pure, light hearted comedy.
Raiders of the Lost Ark - Just watched this for the first time, pretty good film. Holds up well but some of the effects were silly. Harrison Ford is great but Karen Allen is quite annoying. I like the comedy, even though I think some of it was unintentional. 6.5/10
You're 17 now.