en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/630442 Comments by ChaseKahn http://thefilmnest.com/2009/11/this-week-in-blu-113-north-by-northwest-forrest-gump/#IDComment41624450 Picking up "North By Northwest" today, can't wait. I'll wait on "Howards End" and "Wings of Desire"...not for a lack of interest, mind you, but lack of money. Tue, 3 Nov 2009 13:30:09 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/11/this-week-in-blu-113-north-by-northwest-forrest-gump/#IDComment41624450 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/bad-lieutenant-port-of-call-new-orleans-review/#IDComment41260628 Yeah, the docu-camera lighting and compositions are meant to be accurately grimy and unsightly (I think), but it's an ugly film nonetheless. Not exactly David Fincher's vision of New Orleans. Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:00:20 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/bad-lieutenant-port-of-call-new-orleans-review/#IDComment41260628 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/dicaprio-and-maguire-on-the-third-man-remake/#IDComment40742161 Dang it, I'm already falling into the trap, but I just had a vision of Marion Cotillard playing the Alida Valli role. If -- and once again, I hope not -- the film has to be remade, she fits the part to a "T". Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:43:33 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/dicaprio-and-maguire-on-the-third-man-remake/#IDComment40742161 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/dicaprio-and-maguire-on-the-third-man-remake/#IDComment40741898 Ahhh! One of my all-time favorites (I've worn out my 2-disc Criterion case) that does not need to be remade. It's movie perfection: the zither score, the cuckoo clock/ferris wheel scene, the crazy lighting of postwar Vienna, the tilted camera angles, the painfully long final frame, etc. You just can't touch it -- it was a been there, done that movie miracle where everything just came together. And there's also no question that it would be Maquire for Cotten/DiCaprio for Lime, but it's so anti-religious in a film sense to even question it. I'm covering my ears... Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:40:23 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/dicaprio-and-maguire-on-the-third-man-remake/#IDComment40741898 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/the-baader-meinhof-complex-review/#IDComment40437139 Agreed. It does a great job in the first half of portraying the global climate as a time of budding and inevitable conflict, making it easier for us to relate to these terrorists, essentially. Then, in the second half, it asks more questions like, were these founding RAF members impulsively selfish, righteously adamant, or victims of their own countries' misdeeds and inescapable history? To its credit, it doesn't take sides. There is also the eluding to of the future generations of RAF members in the end and how the original cause seems to be culminating into something even worse, but the film, ending with a gunshot, doesn't seem to completely ring the way it could have. Still a very good film. Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:49:46 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/the-baader-meinhof-complex-review/#IDComment40437139 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/where-the-wild-things-are-review/#IDComment39757842 "Overall, the movie made me feel like I was watching mom and dad fight. If mom and dad were big, hairy, wild monsters, course. I was disappointed at the very least--I was so looking forward to it. " To each his [her] own, but that's pretty much the point of the film. You could look at the wild things as an interpretation of Max's own parents, with Carol as the elusive father figure. "no one to universally connect with" I thought it was incredibly resonant for the way it depicted the complexity and confounding nature of childhood emotions. I remember being a kid and going through the same emotional tantrums, issues and feelings without ever knowing why. There's also the scene where KW brings her new "friends" to the fort and Max and Carol can't understand them, literally. How many people HAVEN'T felt upstaged or relegated to old news by a new third-party only to not understand what everyone sees in them. I know I have. Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:52:58 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/where-the-wild-things-are-review/#IDComment39757842 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/where-the-wild-things-are-review/#IDComment39100596 This would be the second movie in two weeks that I would have given 4 Nests to, and it came completely out of nowhere for me. I think this is Spike Jonze's best film -- it surpasses everything that's come before it about childhood and growing up because it speaks the truth: that children are often hopelessly selfish, unconsiously cruel and emotionally confused. Sure the trip to the imaginary island has its payoff. It allows Max to see the fundamentals of human emotion from a different perspective in a way that's more relatable to him. It's not about solving his problems, it's about understanding them. Instead of a celebration of youthful innocence, it's a bleak, scathing look at it's troubles, and I absolutely love the film for that. Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:51:21 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/where-the-wild-things-are-review/#IDComment39100596 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/toy-story-toy-story-2-3d-review/#IDComment38940036 I've already ranted about 3D enough, but it's just troubling to me. If it stays with schlocky horror films and cg and stop-motion animation, I'm fine with it, but talks of "Iron Man 2" in 3D and the format being pushed by Katzenberg and Cameron as the standard is unsettling. Most of the time, the 3D acts as a glossy sheen of "immersiveness" that covers up an otherwise unimpressive film. (The exception being "Coraline"). Plus, with talk of 3D being the lifesaver for studios who feel threatened by dwindling DVD sales and giant home theaters...the box-office seems to be chuggin' along pretty good from where I'm sitting. Did we not just have a record-breaking summer? Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:30:40 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/toy-story-toy-story-2-3d-review/#IDComment38940036 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/a-serious-man-review/#IDComment38243997 ...Like Larry and his disgruntled Korean student, it's like taking a test without any right answers when questioning this fact could prove fatal. It's like the dead cat analogy -- the film is a existential fable and the town depicted is a sandbox illustration of this entire philosophy and what happens when one person stands up and questions it. "What does it all mean?" After the film is over, you'll have the same questions, but like Larry, you'll find that the answers are hard to come by. Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:54:22 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/a-serious-man-review/#IDComment38243997 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/a-serious-man-review/#IDComment38243992 All right, I've seen "A Serious Man" twice now since it opened yesterday and I fully believe this is a genuine work of art and probably the most fully-formed and resonant film I've seen in the last two years - I say this as someone whose never really chugged the Coen kool-aid before. This is a scathing, black-hearted take-down of every passive, "let it be" noncombatant follower of the philosphical fundamentals of faith, destiny and truth. It's not just about "Hashem" and 1960's Jewish suburban Minnesota, it applies to everyone who's ever had the cards stacked against them, who's ever tredged through a bad situation, a bad day, or a bad week and wondered, "why me?" Continued on next comment.... Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:54:11 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/a-serious-man-review/#IDComment38243992 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/paranormal-activity-review/#IDComment37744048 Actually, the most ideal place to watch it would be alone in your dimly lit home at about 10:30 at night when your eyes are glazed over and half-awake. I couldn't imagine how creepy that would be. Of course, then you'd be late to the party... Wed, 7 Oct 2009 23:20:10 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/paranormal-activity-review/#IDComment37744048 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/exclusive-interview-with-zombieland-writers-rhett-reese-and-paul-wernick/#IDComment37500532 I really liked the film. I'd say about 3 1/4 Nests... I would describe it as like a familial-bonding, coming-of-age zombie apocalypse comedy. It has this charming, modest humanity dressed up in a heavy metal, guitar-riffing blood-splattered package. A ton of fun, a ton of heart. I thought the entire cast was fantastic. Great Read! Tue, 6 Oct 2009 16:05:16 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/exclusive-interview-with-zombieland-writers-rhett-reese-and-paul-wernick/#IDComment37500532 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/michael-bay-annouces-transformers-3-to-the-world/#IDComment37043928 The first one should have been it... Sat, 3 Oct 2009 14:26:05 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/10/michael-bay-annouces-transformers-3-to-the-world/#IDComment37043928 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/09/darren-aronofsky-plans-largest-bank-heist-film/#IDComment35531898 Yeah, this sound intriguing. It's always interesting to see an eccentric filmmaker take on a tried and true genre like a bank heist -- can't wait to see what he does with it. I also can't wait for "Black Swan" -- it sounds like "Fountain" Aronofsky. Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:32:00 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/09/darren-aronofsky-plans-largest-bank-heist-film/#IDComment35531898 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/09/zombieland-review/#IDComment35530754 This looks like a completely enjoyable tongue-in-cheek zombie kill mash-up video. Nothing wrong with that. The cast is amazing, too, I can't wait to see it. Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:18:12 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/09/zombieland-review/#IDComment35530754 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/09/the-burning-plain-review/#IDComment35383136 There really is nothing worse than self-conscious arthouse formula and tedium. I mean, when Arriaga wrote "Amores Perros" (a movie I still think is terrific) it was fresh, exciting, nearly poetic -- the narrative actually ADDED to the film. I was semi looking forward to this film last year, being Arriaga's debut and all, when it played the festival circuit, but after hearing about it, I don't know that I'd last twenty minutes. I think Arriaga and Inarritu got in a huge personal/legal battle over the rights/credits to "Babel" when that movie broke it big in '06. Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:01:54 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/09/the-burning-plain-review/#IDComment35383136 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/09/indie-lebanon-acquired-by-sony-classics/#IDComment35355683 I've heard it classified as "The Hurt Locker" meets "Waltz With Bashir" in how it examines the fears, realities, paranoia and personalities of a small army squad. You really didn't dig "Waltz With Bashir"? I thought it was pretty much a brilliant film until the last 2 minutes. Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:32:31 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/09/indie-lebanon-acquired-by-sony-classics/#IDComment35355683 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/09/sam-mendes-takes-a-trip-to-netherland/#IDComment34996562 I pronounce it Men-dees, as well -- right or wrong, I have no idea, but that's how I say it. "Revolutionary Road" is a good film, underrated, with luscious Roger Deakins photography and two great performances. "Away We Go" is a convoluted mess and it completely falls apart in the last fifteen minutes, but I liked Krasinki and Rudolph and some of Dave Eggers' script, which is funny but completely novelistic, which doesn't translate well. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:56:35 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/09/sam-mendes-takes-a-trip-to-netherland/#IDComment34996562 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/09/jennifers-body-review/#IDComment34880809 Yeah, this is pretty much the gist of it from what I've heard. Is it a full-on parody, a horror movie, a comedy, etc.? Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:55:11 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/09/jennifers-body-review/#IDComment34880809 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/09/this-week-in-blu-915-wolverine-army-of-darkness/#IDComment34686177 I'm a huge Blu-supporter, although right now, I'm having a hard time paying $25-$30 bucks for a new movie when I can just rent it from Netflix for $5/month. I buy the must-own titles and my favorites -- i.e. Criterion BD's, Assassination of Jesse James, There Will Be Blood, etc. I know that without Blu-ray, I would watch about 15-20 movies a year less than I would otherwise. People keep telling me that 1080p Digital-Movie-Downloads are the future, and it sounds great, but until the picture quality even resembles what a BD can do, I'm fine right now. Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:12:03 +0000 http://thefilmnest.com/2009/09/this-week-in-blu-915-wolverine-army-of-darkness/#IDComment34686177