tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post9063503272424528082..comments2024-03-27T07:18:39.229-05:00Comments on In Medias Res: The Ten Best Movies I Saw in 2017Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-18955468306506733452018-01-13T15:20:45.261-06:002018-01-13T15:20:45.261-06:00Yes, Dunkirk absolutely deserves--requires, perhap...Yes, Dunkirk absolutely deserves--requires, perhaps--the big screen. As for Malick, your comment is interesting, because I'm kind of the opinion that he came back from his 20-year break (I think Badlands and Days of Heaven are both pretty much small masterpieces) filled with philosophy, and unsure of how to realize that on film, and it's only been with practice that he's gotten more control over his cinematic ambitions. I thought The Tree of Life was better than either A Thin Red Line or The New World, for example.Russell Arben Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03366800726360134194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-20579192382473401372018-01-13T07:24:19.803-06:002018-01-13T07:24:19.803-06:00I sort of fear that I don't have a bit enough ...I sort of fear that I don't have a bit enough screen to enjoy Dunkirk now. (I only have my computer screen, which is fairly big for a computer, but not so big for watching movies.) It looked like the sort of film that really benefits from the big screen. I'm not sure why I didn't see many movies this last year - just got a bit out of the habit. <br /><br />All or Nothing is a hard film to watch, in a typical Mike Leigh way, but the performance by Spall in particular is excellent. (He's one of my favorite actors.) <br /><br />I get your point about Malick. I think The Thin Red Line was his last movie that I _really_ liked. (I thought The New World was good, but it was already going off in the wrong direction.) The last few have been too much about Malick's inner world for my tastes. But I can see how you could draw that line earlier. Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01446428606119200980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-53536939817843890242018-01-12T07:16:54.428-06:002018-01-12T07:16:54.428-06:00I haven't seen All or Nothing; there is a lot ...I haven't seen All or Nothing; there is a lot of Leigh's work that I haven't seen, in fact. As I mentioned in the post, he's not been easy for me to get into, though it's been rewarding. I'll put that film on my list.<br /><br />I really can't understand serious fans of film not "getting" Dunkirk. Fine, there's not really any character development at all, but who cares? These characters were historical types, whose lifespans for the purposes of the film were reduced to days, hours, minutes. I found utterly brilliant filmaking, and a terribly effective invocation of war and survival.<br /><br />I really ought to rewatch The Thin Red Line. I saw it years ago, and didn't like it. The cinematic stream-of-consciousness style that the later Malick movies employ hasn't always worked for me, but sometimes I've seen tremendous power in what he creates on the screen, and it may be that I just needed time to adjust to what Malick was doing with his camera (it was his first movie after his 20-year break, after all; no one knew what to expect).Russell Arben Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03366800726360134194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-57541302047760032072018-01-12T02:14:28.463-06:002018-01-12T02:14:28.463-06:00For various reasons, I watched almost no movies in...For various reasons, I watched almost no movies in the theater or even at home last year, so it's interesting to read the list. I'm glad to see Mr. Turner on it - I'm a bit Mike Leigh Fan, and like Timothy Spall very much, too. Have you seen Leigh's "All or Nothing?" Some interesting bits about taxi driving in London there, too. <br /><br />I'd heard mixed things on Dunkirk. I'm interested to see The Thin Red Line not be on your war movie list. What do you think of it? It's by far my favorite "war" movie.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01446428606119200980noreply@blogger.com