The Flick Pick Monster

hi, first time visiting ur blog, and fell in love ...

2012-04-19T01:41:20.289-04:00

hi, first time visiting ur blog, and fell in love with it straight away.

It's actually completely unfair to judge the w...

2012-04-11T20:49:10.894-04:00

It's actually completely unfair to judge the work of someone based on on their past incidents unless that work promotes negative issues, etc. Ebert had an answer man Q&A on that a while ago as I remember, and I very much agree with his philosophy of "where do you draw the line?" In the same vein, would you be more inclined to like a bad film because the director was the nicest guy in the world?

Yeah, I follow Cannes religiously, so I've hea...

2012-04-11T20:45:30.773-04:00

Yeah, I follow Cannes religiously, so I've heard about all the bullshit he's gotten himself into there. I don't believe he meant the quote about being "the biggest director in the world" completely seriously.

He's a pretty singular director, for better and for worse. I've been through depression myself, yet I've never related to his films on that level (even if that's considered the utmost connection or something).

Alexander Skarsgard is a minimal part of the film, not really leaving a huge impression.

Are you really okay with watching Roman Polanski f...

2012-04-10T22:35:34.126-04:00

Are you really okay with watching Roman Polanski films? No, no, I'm not judging you, nor would I judge anyone who appreciates Polanski's alleged brilliance (I'm not being sarcastic, I just haven't seen any of his films.)

I want to watch "Repulsion," "The Ghost Rider," & this, & I very much like Christoph Waltz (to me, "Inglourious Basterds" is quite the movie,) but it pisses me off that Polanski *raped* a *child* and got away with it by fleeing the country.

Maybe it's almost a personal thing. I'm trying to hold on to some of my beliefs, despite not being religious at all (I gave up vegetarianism because it wasn't right for me, and am always pushing the envelope in terms of what movie violence I can tolerate.)

I feel like if I watch even one of 'Rapey Polanski''s films, I'll be disappointed in myself. What do you think? Do you think a director's films and what he does otherwise can (and should) be separated?

Hello again. Jesus, Lars Von Trier is quite the d...

2012-04-10T22:21:46.638-04:00

Hello again.

Jesus, Lars Von Trier is quite the director, but his ego is unsurpassed. Did you hear he called himself the 'biggest director of all time?' Utter narcissism.

Not to mention his pseudo-Nazi comments he made at the Cannes Film Festival (in front of the French, no less.) I don't actually think he's a Nazi. I just think he's a rather sick man.

But what a director. And he picks ridiculously good performers in his roles (i.e. Bjork, Emily Watson.) And I don't think he's a misogynist. Some people hated Watson's character in "Breaking the Waves," but I thought she was lovely, and obviously not a portrait of all women, let alone most women.

I'm kind of surprised he picked Alexander Skarsgard for the role, as I think he's minimally talented due to my viewings of "True Blood" (my mother thinks he's mighty fine though.) Is he competent?

I hear Von Trier himself struggled with depression, like my mother and I (my actual disorder is Pue-O OCD, but whatever.)

P.S. I post my reviews on Listal now, hence the fact that you have seen very little of me lately. The link is available next to my name.

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2012-03-14T02:31:59.923-04:00

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We also see them losing control, their reaches exc...

2012-02-29T03:13:01.222-05:00

We also see them losing control, their reaches exceeding their grasps. They devote an extremely dubious amount of time and energy in a cruise ship casino venture.
Learn Poker

SHAME is not only one of the strongest films of th...

2012-02-14T16:52:53.941-05:00

SHAME is not only one of the strongest films of the year (despite some nagging flaws), but it epitomizes what has been a year of especially fervent debate over cinema. Then again, one insanely polarizing film (TREE OF LIFE) must have seemed like enough. Then also, there's that NC-17 thing.

And THE TURIN HORSE is a must-see. Be sure you know what you're dealing with beforehand though.

I haven't seen THE TURIN HORSE, but I agree wi...

2012-02-14T03:43:27.954-05:00

I haven't seen THE TURIN HORSE, but I agree with you about the other snubbed causes. SHAME should have been nominated for best film, as well.

hahahahahaha this actually was funny

2012-02-06T17:05:01.255-05:00

hahahahahaha this actually was funny

Hey man. I appreciate all these reviews. My wife a...

2012-02-06T12:40:35.118-05:00

Hey man. I appreciate all these reviews. My wife and I never watch a movie until you've reviewed it. You're a critic god. Best of luck to you in your quest (you want to be a movie critic right?). Anyways follow your dreams man. I'm sure there are a lot of agencies that would kill to have you on the team. My only complaint is that you don't update often enough. I FEED OFF YOU MAN!!!

Interested in the success of predictions. Whether ...

2012-01-10T03:09:53.848-05:00

Interested in the success of predictions. Whether there was any way close to the truth?

Thanks for the info. I remembered seeing a referen...

2012-01-01T11:17:01.774-05:00

Thanks for the info. I remembered seeing a reference to Dickens somewhere and now it makes much more sense.

I completely understand your feelings for the film...

2011-12-31T23:31:52.470-05:00

I completely understand your feelings for the film. I'm not really a fan of it. One bit of information that may explain why the story spirals out and loops on itself and is generally odd. It's simply that the source novel was written in serial form basically on a penny a word system. There was no drive to write anything other than for money. Apparently by the end even the author of the novel was lost. (forgive me I'm half remembering a Q&A with the screenwriter from last years NYFF). The looping nature and interconnectedness was simply a means of keeping the story going so he could charge more money. Somewhere along the way the source novel was hailed as a great novel even though its little more than a soap opera. Granted Dickens did similar writing but his books seemed to be about something and didn't poop out at the end.

I enjoyed this film much more than you, mainly bec...

2011-12-05T14:48:05.438-05:00

I enjoyed this film much more than you, mainly because of the humanity that shines through it, especially in the sense of community and loyalty that the immigrant community in France show to each other in helping Marcel with Idrissa.

From her performance in this film alone, I would s...

2011-12-05T14:42:40.873-05:00

From her performance in this film alone, I would say to keep an eye on Shailene Woodley. She's a star in the making.

And yes, the points you make about Clooney and the references to Up in the Air were things I noticed, as well.

"ultimately goes into ambiguous territory, la...

2011-11-06T21:14:28.175-05:00

"ultimately goes into ambiguous territory, lacking a regard for the audience and not really giving a shit" ... I'm trying to decide whether this is a criticism or a compliment. Or whether it matters. :-)

I don't think this movie would be my cup of tea, but you've intrigued me, especially when you called it "jarringly well made" and talked about the hoops viewers must leap through. Great review! This is probably the most fun film review I've read in a while.

Adding your essay blog to my feed reader!

2011-10-28T17:22:27.712-04:00

Adding your essay blog to my feed reader!

You can make your bet from the latest buzz around....

2011-10-25T02:56:16.135-04:00

You can make your bet from the latest buzz around. It's almost the same way in sports betting.

If you were to choose a boxing gym that will benefit you, choose one that has a good boxing trainer.

2011-10-24T03:44:02.139-04:00

This comment has been removed by the author.

That would have made it more ambitious, but it cou...

2011-10-23T08:38:42.970-04:00

That would have made it more ambitious, but it could have led to other pitfalls as well (as you said, "pop psychology"). I think its main strength is how you see very few bad things happen; it's mostly implied. The use of flashbacks may have killed that. But maybe not.

I appreciate this movie somewhat, but kinks definitely should have been ironed out.

This sounds like a movie I probably won't watc...

2011-10-22T19:54:47.269-04:00

This sounds like a movie I probably won't watch simply because of the disturbing subject matter. It seems to me if a film is going to tackle a topic like this, it has to be a truly exceptional movie. Based on your review, I think this probably isn't the case.

Just out of curiosity, do you think this would've been a stronger movie if you'd learned more about the perpetrator's back story, making it somewhat clear how he came to be what he is? Or do you think that would have reduced it to a pop psychology piece -- "abused kid grows up to be a monster?"

Maybe that's why I said "honestly, I don&...

2011-10-09T08:28:10.823-04:00

Maybe that's why I said "honestly, I don't understand" in the review? Didn't like that film very much at all, and I'm not in the mood to give it any more of my time.

Maybe you just don't understand, Nick.

2011-10-08T20:16:35.755-04:00

Maybe you just don't understand, Nick.