Posts by Robert Cooper41

Honestly, those Asian films where Christopher Doyle was behind the lens—I mean, look at *Hero*, *In the Mood for Love*, *Happy Together*, or *Temptress Moon*—they are just on another level entirely, aren't they? There is a certain magic there that you just can't replicate. Chungking Express. Can we even talk about it without getting lost in that neon-soaked, rain-slicked haze? It’s one of those films that doesn't just play on a screen; it settles under your skin like a fever dream you aren't quite ready to wake up from. I find myself circling back to it constantly, wondering if anyone else feels that same rhythmic, almost hypnotic pull toward the frantic energy of Hong Kong—or in our case, that specific, restless urban pulse you only find in places like New York City. There is something so profoundly lonely yet vibrantly alive about the way WKW captures these fleeting, cosmic intersections of strangers. Isn't that just the essence of the modern American experience, isn't it? We are all just passing through these crowded subway stations and late-night diners, brushing shoulders with people who will become nothing more than ghosts in our memory by the next morning. And yet, through the lens of Christopher Doyle, every moment feels heavy with a sort of beautiful, aching significance. How does he manage to make a simple snack bar feel like the center of the universe? It’s more than just cinematography, though that is undeniably breathtaking; it’s the mood, the sheer, unadulterated feeling of longing. You watch these characters navigate their heartbreak and their sudden, unexpected bursts of hope, and you can't help but wonder: how many times have we been that person, standing in the middle of a crowd, feeling utterly alone? It’s a masterpiece of urban isolation and accidental connection, a swirling, colorful mess of emotion that stays with you long after the credits roll. ... and of course, there’s Mark Lee Ping Bing, the visionary behind those stunning visuals in Springtime in a Small Town, Millennium Mambo, and Vertical Ray of the Sun.

I’d say the movie was alright, more or less. Sure, they definitely leaned a bit too hard into certain moments—it felt a little over the top at times—but if you can stomach the overall vibe, it’s actually quite tolerable, especially when you consider how much of a "deviant" script we're dealing with here. Honestly, isn't it just an interesting attempt to portray human sexuality through a different lens? I mean, even in modern American psychology, there's this ongoing effort to redefine what we call "normalcy" regarding intimacy, suggesting that anything practiced between consenting adults—whether it's two people or more—should be viewed through a much broader spectrum. Why should we stick to such rigid, outdated definitions when the human experience is so much more complex than that? 😁 😁 ...of participants (and let’s be clear, I am absolutely not taking those extreme, legally actionable cases into account here).

By the way, the whole situation revolves around the fact that the screenplay actually walked away with the win for Best First Screenplay at this year's Independent Spirit Awards!

It seems perfectly natural that our tastes in cinema shift as we age—I mean, who wouldn't change their mind after a decade or two? But then there are those specific films where my entire perspective flipped on its head in what felt like the blink of an eye, leaving me staring at the screen wondering how I could have ever seen them that way before. It’s almost jarring, isn't it? To go from one mindset to a completely different one regarding the same piece of art in such a short span of time? Here are a few examples of when that happened to me:

Things to do in Denver, When you're dead.
I remember the first time I sat through this in a theater; honestly, I was completely bored out of my mind. I couldn't get past Andy Garcia’s over-the-top acting style—it just felt like he was trying way too hard—and then there was Christopher Walken, who seemed to be playing the exact same character he’s played in a dozen other movies. It felt repetitive, didn't it? But then, about a year later, I caught it on TV, and good grief, what a total shift in perspective! I was absolutely floored by how much better it landed once I actually gave it a chance. Suddenly, everything clicked: Steve Buscemi was brilliant as mister Shhh, Treat Williams delivered a knockout performance as Critical Bill, and the supporting cast was nothing short of phenomenal. And don't even get me started on that soundtrack—having Warren Zevon, Freddy Johnston, and Morphine all contributing to the score? It was pure perfection. How can a movie go from being a complete snooze-fest to a masterpiece in just one viewing?

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like the whole vibe around Amelia is constantly being debated? It’s one of those things where you can't seem to get a straight answer out of anyone, and frankly, it’s exhausting! You look at one side of the conversation and they’re praising every single detail, then you turn around and the critics are tearing it to shreds, leaving you stuck somewhere in that frustrating middle ground of "maybe" or "maybe not." Why is it always such a polarizing mess? Is it possible for a film to be both a masterpiece and a total disaster depending on who you ask, or are we all just losing our minds over the same thing?
After catching my first viewing in a packed theater—surrounded by some truly top-tier company, I might add—I find myself sitting here, still trying to process everything. 😉 Honestly, the entire movie just kept spinning around in my head like some kind of fever dream, wouldn't you say? It was absolutely relentless. I couldn't shake the feeling, so naturally, a few days later, I went out and tracked down the soundtrack just to make sense of the madness.
Honestly, after only a few short months, I sat down to watch it again, and let me tell you—halfway through, I was practically living on the fast-forward button. It was like, "Come on, just get to the end already!" I don't even have the slightest desire to give it another shot right now... though, who knows? Maybe in a year or two, if my patience isn't completely depleted, I might revisit it. But for now? Absolutely not. 😁 😁

Unlike his work on Magnolia or Boogie Nights, PT Anderson has actually managed to deliver something that isn't quite so self-important for once. It’s hard to pin down a single genre, though I suppose you could call it a romantic comedy—if you consider its particular brand of humor to be slightly offbeat... and honestly, what an unexpected pairing: Adam Sandler & Emily Watson actually work surprisingly well together here. All told, it serves as a pretty decent little stylistic exercise.

It really all boils down to who we’re talking about, doesn't it? Personally, I think John Milius is fantastic, even if he carries that notorious right-wing reputation. As for this modern crop of movies, I'm honestly not so sure, but let's be real—it seems like the major Hollywood studios have been aggressively pushing this specific brand of "American-style patriotism" ever since 9/11 and throughout all these various conflicts. It actually brings to mind an interesting situation back in '99, when television stations across New York City, during the NATO bombings, would constantly broadcast films that depicted America in such a negative light: things like Wag the Dog, Casualties of War, or Apocalypse Now... and the kicker is, they were all American films!

Peter Greenaway

And don't even get me started on the others: Ken Russel, Derek Jarman, and Paul Morrisey.

They are all such fascinating names to dive into... one really ought to spend some time digging through their filmographies. 😁

I just want to throw a few quick thoughts out there regarding the points mentioned earlier:

- "Moulin Rouge" — absolutely phenomenal.
- "Dancer in the dark" — total shit.
- Hitchcock? A pure genius.

(on a different note) My absolute favorite cinematic quote:
Fritz Lang once said about the cinemascope format: "It's only good for filming funerals and snakes." 😁 😁 😁

I was just reading this interview where Wolfgang Becker mentioned how he went out of his way to find an actor from East Germany because, even if it sounds identical to everyone else, Americans can actually pick up on those subtle shifts in accent between someone from the Midwest versus the East Coast, and he really wanted that level of authenticity for the role.

So, I caught a screening at the Sundance Film Festival yesterday 😁
It was actually quite decent... the whole crew—the director, most of the cast—they’re all from East Germany, so they really nailed that specific perspective on reunification.
It isn't just some cheap shot at socialist nostalgia; it’s more an exploration of people who poured their entire lives into a system they genuinely believed in... coupled with the harsh reality that what replaced it, this supposed capitalism, is nothing like the dream they sold us.
The score was composed by Yann Tiersen, the guy who became a household name with Amelia... and honestly, he did a job just like Breg bukvalno 😁 😁 It’s practically the same music, just with some slight tweaks (obviously without those distinctively French touches like the accordion and whatnot).
Since the distributor is Warner Bros., we’ll probably see it hitting theaters pretty soon.

Larry Gonzalez11 said:Heh...
whenever I think back to those days of waiting by the mailbox for my packages to arrive...
man, those were the days...
I used to get as excited as a little kid on Christmas morning.

...you'd get these beautifully printed things, maybe even some extra tracks from a similar artist if there was enough room left on the cassette tape. We're talking AMC, Hüsker Dü, Souled American, Thin White Rope, Galaxie 500 (though, granted, I wasn't quite sixteen when I discovered all of them)
I honestly can't for the life of me remember the name of that one local shop in Chicago I used to order everything from... though later on, I ended up with those absolutely dreadful bootleg copies from overseas—ugh, do you remember how much those cheap tapes used to smell?😁

The Cult, The Cure, The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission 😁

Robbie Williams - Road to Mandalay ... or maybe even Angels

Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On

Ajooooj, Marvin Gaye? Seriously? Where on earth does he fit in with this bunch of martyrs?

Michelle Howard2 said:To stay on track here, I have to say that the whole "Lomec wave" kept hitting me hard, and that ending? It slapped me right in the face like a sledgehammer—in the best way possible, I mean. But "Dancer in the Dark"? That one just grazed me, and not in a good way. I simply don't care for those kinds of movies. Honestly, if Luis Buñuel were here, he’d probably just shrug and say, "I've never had much time for the blind."

Neither of those two is actually a Dogme 95 film. 😉

I'm with you on this: as much as I thought Breaking the Waves was absolutely phenomenal, Dancer in the Dark was a total disaster for me!

PS. It feels like they tried to sneak some version of a Dogme film into USA Harmony Corina with "Julien Donkey-Boy" (though I haven't actually sat through 🙄 yet).

Let’s not get carried away here, because honestly, American film production is just so massive that you can always dig up something genuinely interesting if you look hard enough: we have Ghost World from a couple of years back, Linklater’s Waking Life and Tape, the aforementioned Solondz, Spike Jonze... even some of that earlier Hal Hartley stuff. Just a few weeks ago, I found myself watching Death to Smoochy, which is this biting black comedy starring Edward Norton and Robin Williams—and man, let me tell you, Robin Williams was incredible in it—it’s such a subversive piece, really dissecting how the TV industry treats children's shows as nothing more than glorified vehicles for selling advertisements.

analogmaker7 said:... A movie completely devoid of any emotion whatsoever... Characters who seem utterly incapable of feeling anything at all.

Well, goodness gracious, I can't say I felt a single spark of emotion while sitting through this thing either! 😁 mada I really let myself get my hopes up when I heard the name Tindersticks on the opening credits... but then what do you get? Just a bunch of lifeless sticks.
mada I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical right from the jump: a theater director at the helm, plus the first "serious" actress to perform a blow-job on screen... it all just feels a bit too much "high art" for my particular tastes. 🙄

...just one little thing I have to add: I was reading this interview with Cronenberg in "Rolling Stone" yesterday, and get this—he recently had laser eye surgery, and he actually filmed the whole procedure from a close-up angle using his own camera! Now he spends his time occasionally reviewing the footage... and he’s even thinking about inviting some friends over for a private screening of it. Ha! Can you believe the nerve? What a freaking genius!! 😁 😁

3. Another sneaky little label for Westerns, especially those low-budget B-movies.

spaghetti western

4. Those gritty 70s action flicks starring Black leads (like Yaphet Kotto or Pam Grier) specifically made for Black audiences.

Blaxploitation

5. You know how Clint Eastwood dedicated his "Unforgiven" simply to "Sergio and Don"? Does anyone actually know which two directors he was talking about?

Sergio Leone and Don Siegel

3. A dark comedy by Barry Sonnenfeld about some small-time crook and debt collector who decides to try his luck working in the movie business...

Get Shorty

3. One of the most iconic cinematic characters of all time first crawled onto the screen back in 1922 in a German production...

Nosferatu / Dracula

David Cronenberg, or as he’s widely known, "The King of Body horror," is easily one of the most compelling directors working today. Watching his films always triggers this incredibly conflicted cocktail of emotions—one minute you’re recoiling in pure disgust, and the next, you’re staring at the screen in absolute awe... and more often than not, his work sparks these massive, heated debates. You have the small-town moralists throwing around accusations of pornography when they watch "Crash," while the self-proclaimed "intellectuals" turn around and attack him for his depiction of women being too passive.
My personal favorite has to be "Dead Ringers"; even though people have already picked it apart with those tired, worn-out psychoanalytic theories, it remains one of the most fascinating visual explorations of psychological conflict ever put to film (only rivaled by Hitchcock's "Vertigo"). It captures that brutal friction between a cold, calculating "scientific mind" and those raw, aggressive sexual impulses.
As for "eXistenZ," that was actually the weakest of his films I've seen so far. The concept itself is brilliant, but the execution felt diluted—which, if he’s being honest, happened because the producers stepped in and altered the vision since nobody would touch the original script. 🙂 I suspect that might be why his recent work feels a bit "softened"... I mean, does anyone actually come knocking at his door anymore? He isn't quite commercial enough to satisfy the mainstream horror or sci-fi crowds, yet he's just "artistic" enough to alienate the big-budget studios looking for something more traditional. 🙂

Look, honestly, whether or not the title has anything to do with Speed is completely irrelevant because, at the end of the day, it is an absolutely phenomenal 😁 😁

The absolute gold standard for finding a decent flick: you hunt down a title on IMDb, and then—this is the crucial part—you immediately dive into the external reviews to cross-reference everything against those established, high-authority critic sites...😁