Seen any good films lately? [2]

Okay, I've seen the Wicker Man, but ain't going to go back through 57 pages to find what was said about it here, though I remember Petty really likes it.

I thought it was okay, not earth shaking. In the retrospective interviews several people comment that it's an "important film." I don't see it, it seems fine but nothing any more special than the Twilight Zone which was done earlier with similar intellect. I just didn't see anything ground breaking.   

You saw the Nicolas Cage version, right?

No, the original.

The full original or the terrible cinema release?

hmm...it was about an hour and a half long. Let me check netflix: 88 minutes. Lessee, the full cut was supposed to be 99 minutes, so yeah, I had a cut version.

 You are missing the entire essential middle of the film- an entire day and night worth of plotting.   

That is the version Sir Christopher gets so angry about, 'butchered' is how he describes it, by people who did not understand the film.

There was plotting?! That would have changed everything...if done right, which I have to assume it was. As it was we had the surprise ending which actually fell a little flat, I suppose because the proper build-up was missing.

I'll say!   You are missing some of the best scenes.

As to why its held in such high regard by a lot of folks, including most of those who were involved in making it- I think besides the subject matter being interesting, two opposing religious views that come into contact- its because its largely unique in style and tone. I mean what is it? A thriller? A horror? A musical? I dont know any other film that achieves its own unique mood in quite he same way. Its a self contained world it presents and the viewer is thrown right into that along with the main character.

Its brilliant. did you miss the creepy atmosphere, the slow build up of claustrophobia, the growing anxiety and build up into freeking awesome terror?   

I kind of got it, but I think the build up was missing something. Like 11 minutes of something.

I was flicking through the half in the bag back log and stumbled upon their Dredd review (its the second half of this vid) and I was particularly pleased that their conversation at the end about the themes it raised chimed exactly with the themes the comic deals in. Especially as they know nothing of the comic.

About 32mins in-

http://redlettermedia.com/half-in-the-bag-looper-and-dredd/

Halfy I loved the original Wicker Man. What I got out of it was the internal struggles of a deeply religious man (the scene where the innkeepers daughter is dancing next door comes to mind), who stayed true to his ideals to the end, even while on fire. And as Petty said, it is hard to classify. Just a great movie without a feel good ending.

Affliction is one of my favorites, maybe because of the small town feel, or because the characters could be members of my family. If you liked Wicker Man I think you'd like Affliction as well.

Glad to see a potential Half in the Bag convert, Petty!

I enjoy their reviews Eldo, but I have a lot less time for the surrounding 'humour' and tend to skip through it all to get to the review.


"What I got out of it was the internal struggles of a deeply religious man (the scene where the innkeepers daughter is dancing next door comes to mind), who stayed true to his ideals to the end, even while on fire" - Hillbilly

What I love about it is how there are so many different views to take on events- on the one hand you can see it as a man martyred for his beliefs. A man who refuses to denounce his faith when confronted with temptation and his own fate.
But on the other hand its also true that the very strictness of his belief prevents him saving himself- had he gone with the Willow he would have been no use to him, had he left when he was told to he would have been no use to them- there are numerous point where it is is steadfast adherence to his religion which also entraps him.
Yet if you are believer then, as Lord Summerisle says 'you will sit among the blessed.'

And the brilliance of Woodwards performance in portraying that religious certainty through every pore is one of the outstanding things about the film.
One of my favourite scenes is in the classroom, and its largely because of his acting, and in particular the body language he conveys- taking to the teachers desk to speak like a minister at a church pulpit, and then the barely controlled indignant rage at what he learns. Sheer brilliance, and such a faultless west coast of Scotland accent that I was at least in my mid teens before I found out he was not Scottish.

Nobody likes Half in the Bag!

what I get from Wicker man is an ancient conflict between the Pagan (and fertility ?) Celtic and the Christian a war that somehow is still going on in Summerisle, it reminds me of the Romans turning up in Anglsey Island and being faced with the Druids, but this time the Druids are disguised under a quiet sunny ordinary seeming English village. I think thats why Agatha Christie is so popular it taps into the weird undercurrents. There are still strange villages and festivals in England, feral Morrismen and suchlike.

I was disappointed that the 'ancient rites' were actually something resurrected a generation or two ago, and in fact had to be taught to the villagers. Not in fact preserved at all - this made it much less interesting to me.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:
One of my favourite scenes is in the classroom, and its largely because of his acting, and in particular the body language he conveys- taking to the teachers desk to speak like a minister at a church pulpit, and then the barely controlled indignant rage at what he learns. Sheer brilliance, and such a faultless west coast of Scotland accent that I was at least in my mid teens before I found out he was not Scottish.

In comparison I think most Americans were surprised to learn that Hugh Laurie is British. In his performance as House his American accent is also flawless.

Thing with Hugh Laurie is that over here he was famous for playing not just English parts- but sort of uber englishness parts, quintisentially English you could say- roles like Bertie Wooster, or Prince George in Blackadder.
He had a niche in upper class rich twit. No one does endearingly gormless half as well as Hugh Laurie!

and he certainly wasnt a sex symbol. Give him an American accent and suddenly he is hot. (he is quite hot   ) its probably due to the mad Byronic thing as well.

I think he just got older and given a part where he is socially and intellectually dominant while also seeming world weary and flawed. Women are suckers for that sort of thing. Gimme a few years, I'll be rolling in the ladies.   

Watched The Mummy 1 and 2, my kind of films. Good fun

Are we talking Boris Karloff Mummy here or Brendan Fraser Mummy...

I like the Boris Karloff ones as well. We weren't allowed to watch them when i was a kid.
Mum and dad said we would be too scared. They were right.