It’s basically engineered to appeal to you. It’s like when you accidentally end up at a McDonald's; you know the food is total garbage, but once every few months, it actually hits the spot. 😁
... I see nobody’s jumped in yet, and I’m intentionally avoiding starting a whole new thread 😉
Just trying to stir the pot a little... here is a review of this movie by some supposed "critic elite," where the writer basically proves they aren't just an idiot, but a complete hack who’s totally closed off to anything intellectually stimulating—unless it's something like "Shrek." Their entire vocabulary seems limited to "Two thumbs up." Personally, I'd give this review ten thumbs up the ass. 😁 Stupid m/f
As of today, I am officially done quoting any American film critic. They're just a bunch of morons piled on top of other morons.
It’s true, it’s basically a sort of tribute to those 50s melodramas, though the script itself is an original piece of work. The acting is stellar, and honestly, the attention to detail might feel almost excessive for an American film at times. But the performances? Really strong. Personally, I’ve always been a fan of that subtle, simmering tension—something you just don't see much in modern American cinema anymore. From a sociological perspective, the 50s were really that era where American society started losing its innocence. Keeping that in mind helps make sense of the movie; it’s when all that hypocrisy and mimicry started creeping in, using the masses as a crutch. And one more thing—just because the absolute best classical compositions were written 50 or 100 years ago doesn't mean people aren't making stuff today that actually holds some weight. 🙂
Alan Parker is pretty much known for tackling those heavy, controversial slices of American history or social friction in his films. With "The Life of David Gale," he dives into that messy social fabric—that constant tug-of-war between progressive ideals and the notoriously harsh, reactionary views held by a huge chunk of society. It follows an American activist fighting to abolish the death penalty, operating right in the heart of a state like Texas. The story is gripping, actually quite tense, so calling it a thriller feels pretty spot on. Spacey is masterful here; depending on how you view his tragicomic performance, some might see echoes of his character in "American Beauty." The core of the movie kicks off when David Gale, a well-known anti-death penalty advocate, finds himself on death row. He spends his final four days trying to connect with a journalist from a major weekly magazine, hoping she can help shine a light on the circumstances behind his conviction. By the end, the film really forces you to sit with your thoughts, which means it’s entirely possible it won't be a crowd-pleaser for every American.😉
Costa-Gavras just put out this new film, "Amen," which tackles the Catholic Church and the Holocaust, while Alan Parker did "The Life of David Gale," focusing on a political activist fighting the death penalty who ends up being framed and sentenced to death himself through a series of messy events.
Do you think movies like these actually land, and what's one political film that really stuck with you?
The Life of David Gale - Amen | reviews - Costa-Gavras interview
1. Use 35 mm Academy format (though digital is getting a pass lately). 2. Everything has to be shot on location. 3. Sound needs to sync up with the image. Any music used during filming has to be live. 4. You have to use a Hand-held camera; any movement you can pull off by hand is fair game. 5. Color only. No filters or special lighting setups allowed (except for whatever light the camera picks up naturally). 6. Optical attachments are out. 7. No violence allowed (killings, weapons, etc., are all off the table). 8. The story happens right here, right now. You can't jump to the future or move the setting to some other part of the US. 9. Genre films aren't permitted. 10. The director gives up all publishing rights and is treated simply as an artist.
🙄
Art and rules—it's a bit of a contradiction in terms.
There was this one "gritty" movie I mentioned before—one I actually think is a masterpiece, though it didn't exactly break records at the box office and went straight to video—it’s "The Great Salt Lake" starring Val Kilmer.
Oh, it definitely exists. I remember it vividly because back in the day, I was pretty much obsessed with those old-school gangster flicks starring James Cagney. This one hits that exact same vibe—the costumes, the makeup (those ridiculous 1930s-style mustaches 😁), the soundtrack, and even using catchy tunes as if they were ammunition 🙂
The Doors Amadeus Reservoir Dogs Pulp Fiction Blues Brothers Last Waltz How rock'n'roll died Skupljak perje 24 hour party People hair Easy Rider Batman o Brother 24 Hour Party People Hair Easy Rider Batman O Brother, Where Art Thou? Almost Famous Labyrinth Labyrinth ... etc. 😉
5. Of course I'm respectable. I'm old. Politicians, whores, and ugly buildings—they all eventually become respectable if they just stick around long enough.
--Chinatown
2. Everyone knows about those nine massive letters sitting on the hills in Los Angeles. Not so many people realize there used to be thirteen back in the day. What was the full name?
--Hollywoodland
4. A classic Delmer Daves western about a farmer (Van Heflin) trying to hold onto a captured outlaw (Glenn Ford) until the train finally pulls in.
--3:10 to Yuma
5. An '84 political thriller where two American officials (Robert Mitchum and Robert Hudson) try to mediate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, based on that Elmore Leonard novel "Pick-up".
--The Ambassador
4. Who was the British engineer who revolutionized how we record and play back sound back in '65?
--Ray Dolby—though he’s an American who made his mark in New York City😉
I haven't even seen Crash, so I can't really say if these others would be my thing either.
No offense intended, but... why don't people just let artists evolve in whatever direction they want? Cinema should be experienced individually. Let the statisticians worry about the trends.
The core of the first Odyssey was always about the mystery.
But honestly, just reading 2001, I figured out pretty early on that those monoliths are basically tools left behind by some other beings.
The essence odyssey 2001 is really just that monolith being sent out by intelligent life from deep space. The whole idea is that humanity will finally make contact with this other civilization once our tech and our consciousness hit a specific milestone. The rest of the movie is just a slow meditation on how—and if—we ever actually get there. To me, the ending doesn't really give you a straight answer.