Stories from D.C.

So, apparently, the only theater in town showing "Stories from D.C."—this anthology featuring a bunch of talented young American writers—is the local indie cinema. It’s honestly a bit ridiculous that such a project is being restricted to just one single venue in the entire city.

Eric Jackson68 said:So, apparently, the only theater in town showing "Stories from D.C."—this anthology featuring a bunch of talented young American writers—is the local indie cinema. It’s honestly a bit ridiculous that such a project is being restricted to just one single venue in the entire city.

I don't think there's any shame in that; honestly, just imagine if that theater didn't even exist, or if we hadn't all fought to keep it alive. Now *that* would be a disgrace—if that same space was just turned into a Walmart today.Europa is—alongside the local cinema (assuming they actually get around to renovating that one)—basically the last sanctuary for good movies in Washington, D.C. (and arguably one of the most beautiful theaters in all of Europe🙂).

That’s certainly true, but there's something inherently absurd about a film dedicated to Washington, D.C. being screened in just one single cinema located right there in Washington, D.C....

Christian Taylor3 said:I don't think there's any shame in that; honestly, just imagine if that theater didn't even exist, or if we hadn't all fought to keep it alive. Now *that* would be a disgrace—if that same space was just turned into a Walmart today.Europa is—alongside the local cinema (assuming they actually get around to renovating that one)—basically the last sanctuary for good movies in Washington, D.C. (and arguably one of the most beautiful theaters in all of Europe🙂).

I'm with you on that.

To be honest, it would feel totally "off" to me watching something like Chicago stories in, say, a Cinemark.

It's the same thing with certain films—there are plenty that just don't fit that materialistic, commercial vibe. Their place is in Europe, or maybe somewhere like Central Park.

But, since we're on the subject, I should probably weigh in.

I wasn't expecting much, but I have to admit—for the most part—this omnibus was actually quite charming. Out of the nine stories, only one really failed to land for me. Sure, some of them lean a bit hard on those "cheap" emotional beats, but I can't even bring myself to be mad at them for that.

I think what I liked most was the concept behind Juric's yellow moon. COLLECTOR-Mirkovic is sort of... hmm, cute? And Sikavich's Spanish Continent was actually pretty well directed.

Anyway, kudos to the young filmmakers (well, most of them). 👍

Caught some stuff at the Sundance Film Festival over at the SC, so I can't really speak on what was playing at the local cinema in Europe. The vibes were great though, just tons of movies, and honestly it was cool seeing all the locals out there supporting American film. My top picks were KANAL - Sudar and RECIKLIRANJE-Istvančić. As for the bad ones, Ciao mama—or that other long title by Kljuković, I forgot—and Odvorčić were just pretentious, boring, and totally pointless... GAME OVER-stvarno was just confusing, I didn't get the point or the ego behind it at all, and NAJPAMETNIJE NASELJE... was just a basic gag movie that doesn't even touch the level of Raf. For yellow moon-JURIC, the acting was good but there was zero direction, it was poorly shot, and that ending was super debatable and left too much unsaid... the director always seems to pick forced pretentiousness instead of actually mastering basic screenwriting and solid directing first, if you ask me. Then there was COLLECTOR-Mirkovic, hmm, felt way too much like a stage play, especially with that wooden directing, everything moved so slow that it would've been cute if it wasn't longer than 3 minutes, plus the ending was such a cheap trick. I guess that's all I remember...

Alexander Hernandez32 said:I'm with you on that.

To be honest, it would feel totally "off" to me watching something like Chicago stories in, say, a Cinemark.

It's the same thing with certain films—there are plenty that just don't fit that materialistic, commercial vibe. Their place is in Europe, or maybe somewhere like Central Park.

But, since we're on the subject, I should probably weigh in.

I wasn't expecting much, but I have to admit—for the most part—this omnibus was actually quite charming. Out of the nine stories, only one really failed to land for me. Sure, some of them lean a bit hard on those "cheap" emotional beats, but I can't even bring myself to be mad at them for that.

I think what I liked most was the concept behind Juric's yellow moon. COLLECTOR-Mirkovic is sort of... hmm, cute? And Sikavich's Spanish Continent was actually pretty well directed.

Anyway, kudos to the young filmmakers (well, most of them). 👍

...feels like I've heard you say this somewhere before...

😉 🙂

ruggedhound192 said:Caught some stuff at the Sundance Film Festival over at the SC, so I can't really speak on what was playing at the local cinema in Europe. The vibes were great though, just tons of movies, and honestly it was cool seeing all the locals out there supporting American film. My top picks were KANAL - Sudar and RECIKLIRANJE-Istvančić. As for the bad ones, Ciao mama—or that other long title by Kljuković, I forgot—and Odvorčić were just pretentious, boring, and totally pointless... GAME OVER-stvarno was just confusing, I didn't get the point or the ego behind it at all, and NAJPAMETNIJE NASELJE... was just a basic gag movie that doesn't even touch the level of Raf. For yellow moon-JURIC, the acting was good but there was zero direction, it was poorly shot, and that ending was super debatable and left too much unsaid... the director always seems to pick forced pretentiousness instead of actually mastering basic screenwriting and solid directing first, if you ask me. Then there was COLLECTOR-Mirkovic, hmm, felt way too much like a stage play, especially with that wooden directing, everything moved so slow that it would've been cute if it wasn't longer than 3 minutes, plus the ending was such a cheap trick. I guess that's all I remember...

Only someone who fundamentally misunderstands what direction actually is would claim that Juric's Yellow moon is poorly directed...

I know enough to tell you there’s basically zero direction here. It’s just constant back-and-forth, plan after plan, counterplan after counterplan... what was that 15 minutes of nothingness followed by a half-baked finale. Honestly, you could find better directing in any soap opera, at least those people actually know the craft. And I don't see what being a local matters in this whole mess, it's the exact same story with Pleic🙄

ruggedhound192 said:I know enough to tell you there’s basically zero direction here. It’s just constant back-and-forth, plan after plan, counterplan after counterplan... what was that 15 minutes of nothingness followed by a half-baked finale. Honestly, you could find better directing in any soap opera, at least those people actually know the craft. And I don't see what being a local matters in this whole mess, it's the exact same story with Pleic🙄

When I hear someone reduce directing to mere framing, it’s obvious they don't grasp the essence of film artistry or the skill of directing. "Shot, reverse shot... fifteen minutes later and it's just half-total"... by that logic, the central scenes in many of Bergman's films were framed exactly that way. In contrast to his work, you see so many "virtuosic" shots in almost every other American B-movie, which remain largely worthless despite the technique. Directing isn't just about framing. Good—or mediocre—framing is simply one element that helps define whether direction is successful. Framing is a skill that only becomes an art form in the hands of a rare few, those who use it to establish a distinct directorial signature (think Polanski, Hitchcock, Spielberg, Altman, Lynch, Kubrick... or from our current circle, Bauer, Petrovic, Babaja, Ogresta, Tadic...)
The genius of Chaplin's films, particularly his features, relies heavily on relatively long medium shots. Following ruggedhound192's logic, one might assume they are "badly directed." He doesn't seem interested in the content within those frames—what is present and what isn't—nor does he realize that what is left out of the frame is also part of the direction. Directing is a system of thought, a perspective, a worldview...

I can tell bubaluba is personally invested in this director since she’s defending him so hard... some kind of crush, maybe? 😍
I only mentioned him as one of about ten people, and yeah, if you're going to direct it that way, there has to be a justification in the STORY. But there's absolutely NONE here. Just two talented actresses. Even when it comes to the plot, Ciao Mama is actually better by a long shot... that movie at least has a beginning, middle, and end.

ruggedhound192 said:I can tell bubaluba is personally invested in this director since she’s defending him so hard... some kind of crush, maybe? 😍
I only mentioned him as one of about ten people, and yeah, if you're going to direct it that way, there has to be a justification in the STORY. But there's absolutely NONE here. Just two talented actresses. Even when it comes to the plot, Ciao Mama is actually better by a long shot... that movie at least has a beginning, middle, and end.

Look, you're new here, so I’ll let it slide this time—but just so we're clear—this kind of mindless nonsense won't be tolerated in the future. I don't follow. Are you seriously going to call someone out just because they're passionately defending a director they happen to be personally attached to—give me a break.

ruggedhound192 said:I only mentioned him among that crowd of about ten—and sure, if you wanted to stage it that way, you’d actually need a STORY to justify it. Which, let's face it, isn't even there. There are just two talented actresses.

If there's no actual story—then the framing becomes more than just justifiable.

What do you guys think Marija Skaricic actually heard under that crowd at the end of "yellow moon" to trigger such a reaction? Personally—and this might be a stretch—I was thinking something like: "I got pregnant at that party where I was just acting wild with some guy, and now I can't tell if I'm carrying a baby or a damn puppy."

northerncrane4 said:Look, you're new here, so I’ll let it slide this time—but just so we're clear—this kind of mindless nonsense won't be tolerated in the future. I don't follow. Are you seriously going to call someone out just because they're passionately defending a director they happen to be personally attached to—give me a break.

If there's no actual story—then the framing becomes more than just justifiable.

What do you guys think Marija Skaricic actually heard under that crowd at the end of "yellow moon" to trigger such a reaction? Personally—and this might be a stretch—I was thinking something like: "I got pregnant at that party where I was just acting wild with some guy, and now I can't tell if I'm carrying a baby or a damn puppy."

One of my old professors used to say: "I am not responsible for your associations!"
:P

Ugh, and I thought this was a more "liberal" forum... honestly, you can say more stuff in Congress than you can here. And what are you doing, acting like Jadranka Kosor? If you're the moderator, that just means there's no hint of pedophilia or sexual escapades, not that we can't poke a little fun at things. Besides, I had to deal with her constant insults and belittling... I was just sharing my subjective take on the movie, but she attacks me like I don't know anything about cinema just because she happens to like it. So what?! Most people in the cinema didn't share her opinion anyway...
Anyway, I saw some film thread where a user wrote about how they don't get the unjustified hype constantly building up around Nuic, saying he made maybe "one and a half films of mediocre quality," or something like that. I’d just add that Juric is the exact same story. First off, he filmed that thing called "The One Who Will Remain Unnoticed," which I don't even want to comment on, and then that tragically bad episode in Sex, Beer and Bloodshed. Etc, etc...

ruggedhound192 said:Ugh, and I thought this was a more "liberal" forum... honestly, you can say more stuff in Congress than you can here. And what are you doing, acting like Jadranka Kosor? If you're the moderator, that just means there's no hint of pedophilia or sexual escapades, not that we can't poke a little fun at things. Besides, I had to deal with her constant insults and belittling... I was just sharing my subjective take on the movie, but she attacks me like I don't know anything about cinema just because she happens to like it. So what?! Most people in the cinema didn't share her opinion anyway...
Anyway, I saw some film thread where a user wrote about how they don't get the unjustified hype constantly building up around Nuic, saying he made maybe "one and a half films of mediocre quality," or something like that. I’d just add that Juric is the exact same story. First off, he filmed that thing called "The One Who Will Remain Unnoticed," which I don't even want to comment on, and then that tragically bad episode in Sex, Beer and Bloodshed. Etc, etc...

I'll take that as a compliment.

Learn how to actually debate first—you know, countering an argument with a real counter-argument—before you start "stinging."

ruggedhound192 said:I was just sharing my subjective opinion on the movie, but she's attacking me because apparently I don't know anything just because she liked it.

Patrick Garcia76 explained what film direction actually is quite precisely. And you already proved you haven't the slightest clue what direction means back on the "in wonderland" thread.

Amy Mendoza25 said:One of my old professors used to say: "I am not responsible for your associations!"
:P

So now you're trying to paint me as some kind of deviant!

All I'm saying is—given what lan Baric might have admitted—that Skaricic's reaction of shock, followed by a smirk and playing around with the yellow moon (which, honestly, you could buy at any pet shop) is perfectly logical. 😛 😁

ruggedhound192 said:Ugh, and I thought this was a more "liberal" forum... honestly, you can say more stuff in Congress than you can here. And what are you doing, acting like Jadranka Kosor? If you're the moderator, that just means there's no hint of pedophilia or sexual escapades, not that we can't poke a little fun at things. Besides, I had to deal with her constant insults and belittling... I was just sharing my subjective take on the movie, but she attacks me like I don't know anything about cinema just because she happens to like it. So what?! Most people in the cinema didn't share her opinion anyway...
Anyway, I saw some film thread where a user wrote about how they don't get the unjustified hype constantly building up around Nuic, saying he made maybe "one and a half films of mediocre quality," or something like that. I’d just add that Juric is the exact same story. First off, he filmed that thing called "The One Who Will Remain Unnoticed," which I don't even want to comment on, and then that tragically bad episode in Sex, Beer and Bloodshed. Etc, etc...

Every director from 1895, when film was invented, until today has produced better and worse works. Just like any writer has better and worse books, or a composer has better and worse pieces, or a painter paints... The same applies to Juric and Nuic. However, both prove in their lesser works that they are, at the very least, solid directors. This is true even for the director you seem so "personally attached" to that it prompted you to join this forum, even quoting foreign reviews that probably only he and the original author actually know...

You guys are honestly killing me...😂 You defend your own biases by claiming you're just using "fictional arguments for the sake of it," while anyone who disagrees is basically sent straight to Alcatraz. If this is supposed to be a forum, then let it actually function like one. And now you're coming at me again over *In Wonderland*. I doubt even someone like Danis Tanovic—who actually has an Oscar under his belt—would even bother with this kind of "cinematic debate" style, unlike those typical American know-it-alls whose entire world revolves around attending the Sundance Film Festival and bragging about it like it's the eighth wonder of the world.
I can't wait to finally catch *Believe in an Angel*... I know, I know, I was embarrassed that I hadn't gotten around to it yet, but I promise, I'm going this weekend, so we can all have a little chat about it after... N. Svilicic said he just wanted to give people a nice, easy Sunday movie, so I'm really not expecting anything more than that. I'm heading there this Sunday...🙂

ruggedhound192 said:You guys are honestly killing me...😂 You defend your own biases by claiming you're just using "fictional arguments for the sake of it," while anyone who disagrees is basically sent straight to Alcatraz. If this is supposed to be a forum, then let it actually function like one. And now you're coming at me again over *In Wonderland*. I doubt even someone like Danis Tanovic—who actually has an Oscar under his belt—would even bother with this kind of "cinematic debate" style, unlike those typical American know-it-alls whose entire world revolves around attending the Sundance Film Festival and bragging about it like it's the eighth wonder of the world.
I can't wait to finally catch *Believe in an Angel*... I know, I know, I was embarrassed that I hadn't gotten around to it yet, but I promise, I'm going this weekend, so we can all have a little chat about it after... N. Svilicic said he just wanted to give people a nice, easy Sunday movie, so I'm really not expecting anything more than that. I'm heading there this Sunday...🙂

What "fictional arguments" are you even talking about?

bubaluba24

I've been lurking on this thread for a while now, but I finally jumped in about two weeks ago... a few of my friends are huge forum addicts (not on this movie one, though), and since I’m such a massive film and music geek, I decided to get involved in the movie section. Now, someone's actually trying to tell me I don't belong because I joined for certain reasons... Honestly, I spend a ton of time Googling stuff, and you can find some really wild things if you actually put in the effort. If you can't handle doing that, well, sorry about that... Anyway, from here on out, I'm planning to comment on every single American film I watch, and I might even check out Hitrec soon too. Am I somehow connected to him or what?! And if I watch something, love it, and write that it's the most American film of the last century, WHO ARE YOU to deny my subjective opinion as a paying customer$9.75. Besides, there were like a thousand people at the SC, or however many, who made it pretty clear what they thought about that Juric guy and those Zg stories, and even regarding the black men, once everyone started heading out outside
.

ruggedhound192 said:bubaluba24

I've been lurking on this thread for a while now, but I finally jumped in about two weeks ago... a few of my friends are huge forum addicts (not on this movie one, though), and since I’m such a massive film and music geek, I decided to get involved in the movie section. Now, someone's actually trying to tell me I don't belong because I joined for certain reasons... Honestly, I spend a ton of time Googling stuff, and you can find some really wild things if you actually put in the effort. If you can't handle doing that, well, sorry about that... Anyway, from here on out, I'm planning to comment on every single American film I watch, and I might even check out Hitrec soon too. Am I somehow connected to him or what?! And if I watch something, love it, and write that it's the most American film of the last century, WHO ARE YOU to deny my subjective opinion as a paying customer$9.75. Besides, there were like a thousand people at the SC, or however many, who made it pretty clear what they thought about that Juric guy and those Zg stories, and even regarding the black men, once everyone started heading out outside
.

Nobody is questioning your right to an opinion. However—and I’ll be the first to call it out—I am going to take issue with you spouting nonsense about "mastering the fundamentals of craft direction"—unless you actually prove through your contributions here that you have any business using those terms in the first place.